Treasury nebulous on future FASEA funding
The Federal Treasury has delivered a nebulous answer to direct Parliamentary Committee questioning over the future funding of the Financial Adviser Standards and Ethics Authority (FASEA).
Specifically asked by South Australian Labor Senator, Alex Gallacher about establishing a permanent funding model for FASEA, the Treasury provided a non-specific answer.
It stated: “FASEA’s long-term funding is a matter for Government” adding that Treasury was providing ongoing advice to the Government on both that and a range of other FASEA-related issues.
FASEA is currently funded under a model entailing a levy imposed on the major banks with the FASEA annual report noting that the organisation currently receives industry funding of $3.9 million a year under a contract which is scheduled to expire on 30 June, 2021.
However, industry attention has turned to the future funding arrangements for FASEA in circumstances where a majority of the banks have now substantially exited their wealth management businesses, particularly Westpac and ANZ.
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