It will be four years before the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) will be fully resourced to extend its market analysis system to monitor wholesale over the counter (OTC) derivatives.
The regulator told a Parliamentary Committee that the delay in being able to deal with OTC derivatives was a funding and staffing issue.
Answering a question on notice from the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services, ASIC said its present estimate was that the system, human resources and implementation requirements for extending its market analysis system to encompass wholesale OTC products would cost around $9.9 million.
It said this would need to be supported by increases to the regulator’s staff numbers to undertake related surveillances and enquiries, as well as provide specialised training for staff.
“We estimate that it will cost around $19 million in total over a period of four years for ASIC to adequately develop its capabilities for the oversight of OTC markets,” the ASIC answer said.
