Following the release of the consultation paper on Reforms to the Supervision of Australia’s Financial Markets by Treasury, ASIC today announced arrangements for managing the transfer of front line market supervision from the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) to ASIC.

ASIC has formed a cross functional management team to develop proposals for assuming its new market supervision responsibilities, including market surveillance and participant supervision as well as to consider emerging markets trends, such as market structure innovation and competition. The team will be led by Mr Greg Yanco, Senior Executive Leader, Market Supervision Project, reporting to the Commission.

After consultation with industry, ASIC has established a Market Supervision Advisory Panel to advise on its approach to its new responsibilities. The panel includes four members from the financial services industry with experience in the legal, compliance, retail and institutional aspects of broking. ASIC senior executives leading the internal transition project will also join panel meetings. It will be chaired by ASIC Commissioner Belinda Gibson.

In addition to consulting with the panel, ASIC will continue to seek input from industry and stakeholder associations, such as The Stockbrokers Association of Australia and the Australian Financial Markets Association, and directly from market participants. ASIC plans to consult publically in the first quarter of 2010 about the rules it will supervise.

ASIC is already well advanced in the planning for the assimilation of existing supervision arrangements into its operations. Assessments of the required people, processes and systems are progressing well.

Discussions are underway with the ASX to ensure the respective organisations responsibilities operate seamlessly when the new arrangements are implemented.

The Market Supervision Advisory Panel will consist of:

• Chair: Ms Belinda Gibson. Commissioner, ASIC

• Ms Lisa Gay, General Counsel, Goldman Sachs JBWere

• Mr Grahame Pratt, Co-Head of Markets – Australia, Royal Bank of Scotland

• Ross Freeman, Partner, Minter Ellison Lawyers.

• Stewart Adams, Director, Responsible Officer and Responsible Executive, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Australia

Download the exposure draft and consultation paper from Treasury