Market Integrity Update - Issue 102 - March 2019
- ASIC Annual Forum 2019
-
Update on implementing the Royal Commission’s recommendations
- Former Sydney FX trader sentenced
- Director of Foster Stockbroking banned for three years
Industry funding payments overdue
We’d like to remind our regulated entities that your industry funding invoices were due for payment by 15 March 2019.
We encourage the prompt payment of your invoice to avoid incurring penalties, which are calculated at 20% per annum of the overdue amount.
This is the first year we’ll recover most of our regulatory costs from the industries we regulate – around 90% of our regulatory activities will be recovered in the form of industry funding levies, with the remaining 10% recovered via ‘fees for service’.
Invoices were issued either via the ASIC Regulatory Portal (to those who registered), or by mail to the registered company address.
The levies payable by industry subsectors were summarised and published in December 2018. The detailed methodology for how we calculate levies for each industry sector is outlined in the ASIC cost recovery regulations.
- Read more about our industry funding arrangements
ASIC Annual Forum 2019
The ASIC Annual Forum will be held at the Hilton Sydney from 16–17 May 2019.
The forum will be held in conjunction with the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and brings together thought leaders from Australia and around the world.
This year’s theme, ‘Other people’s money’, will focus on how we can ensure that the financial industry stays true to its primary function of serving the community, consumers and society.
Over two days, we’ll also explore how the financial industry can orient itself to focus on the end user, and how financial market participants can ensure they meet public expectations when dealing with other people’s money.
Early bird registration is open until 12 April 2019, as well as tickets to the Annual Dinner on 16 May 2019.
- Read more about the ASIC Annual Forum
Update on implementing the Royal Commission’s recommendations
We’ve released an update on our planned actions responding to the final report of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (the Royal Commission).
The Royal Commission’s recommendations reinforce and will inform the implementation of steps we’re taking as part of a strategic program of change that commenced in 2018 to strengthen our governance and culture, and to realign our enforcement and regulatory priorities. This update also provides a progress report on those changes.
This update is a crucial document as it highlights the important work we’ve done to place ourselves on a more effective strategic footing, including creating a functionally separate Office of Enforcement.
There are 12 recommendations that are directed at ASIC, or where the Government’s response requires action now by ASIC, which do not need legislative change. We’re committed to fully implementing each of these.
- Read the media release
Former Sydney FX trader sentenced
Former Sydney Deutsche Bank FX options and futures trader, Andrew Donaldson, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment after pleading guilty to falsifying entries in Deutsche Bank’s internal financial records and systems.
The sentence was fully suspended and Mr Donaldson was released on a good behaviour condition for two years and a security sum of $10,000.
Between 25 July 2013 and 25 June 2014, Mr Donaldson made a total of 85 false entries into Deutsche Bank’s internal records. By making these entries, Mr Donaldson falsely represented to Deutsche Bank that he made substantial profits of more than A$31 million from his trading in financial products, including US Treasury Note Futures.
As detailed in the agreed facts on sentence, the direct or indirect advantage that Mr Donaldson sought to gain by recording these false transactions was to falsely increase his recorded profit, and to mask his actual trading losses. He was then potentially able to meet his annual revenue budget, be eligible for larger incentive payments, and promote himself to a prospective employer.
As the entries related to trades that were fictitious and never executed in the market, no external parties were affected.
- Read the media release
Director of Foster Stockbroking banned for three years
We’ve banned Mark Hinsley from providing financial services for three years, and remind financial service providers that we’ll act against those who engage in conduct which undermines the integrity of our markets.
Our investigation into Mr Hinsley, a director of Foster Stockbroking Pty Ltd (FSB), raised concerns about conduct relating to the allocation of shares in the initial public offering (IPO) of Reffind Ltd (RFN) and the publication by FSB of a research report in relation to RFN.
FSB was the sole lead manager for the IPO of RFN, a small cap technology company, in July 2015. The RFN IPO was heavily over-subscribed.
We found that Mr Hinsley engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct contrary to s1041H(1) of the Corporations Act by failing to disclose to RFN that a proportion of their shares had been allocated to nominee accounts controlled by Mr Hinsley and fellow FSB directors. Also, the research report, which was authored by Mr Hinsley, contained estimates and assumptions that had no reasonable grounds.
Mr Hinsley was Head of Investment Banking for FSB. He was principally responsible for providing corporate advisory services to RFN as well as having a material personal holding in RFN at the relevant time. Mr Hinsley was involved in FSB contravening its general obligations as a financial services licensee to act fairly and to have adequate arrangements to manage conflicts of interest in authoring the research report.
The banning orders for Mr Hinsley have been recorded on our publicly available Banned and Disqualified Persons Register.
- Read the media release