ASIC confirms continuing FX investigations
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has revealed it is continuing to pay close attention to Foreign Exchange (FX) trading businesses and currently has several investigations in progress.
The regulator has revealed the focus on foreign exchange trading in an overview of licensing and professional registration applications published this week, in which it said that financial services relating to foreign exchange and derivatives being marketed to retail clients remained an area of strategic focus.
Reflecting concerns it expressed by senior ASIC executives last year, the regulator noted that it had recently seen an increase in the number of applicants seeking various authorisations relating to derivatives and foreign exchange contracts, including in the form of over-the-counter contracts for difference.
"As a result of our concerns, in the last few years we have been paying particular attention to proposed new entrants to this market sector. This includes consideration of the applicant's business model, their organisational competence and responsible managers, their contractual and outsourced functions, and their risk management systems and processes," the ASIC document said.
It said the licensing team was liaising closely with other ASIC stakeholder teams and other regulatory agencies (both local and overseas) regarding personnel, systems, related parties and associates, as well as operations they may conduct in foreign jurisdictions.
"ASIC's Financial Services Enforcement team has also been active in undertaking a number of investigations concerning foreign exchange participants," it said. "We have conducted and are continuing to conduct surveillances of this industry. We currently have several investigations into foreign exchange trading businesses in progress."
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