Issue 734, 24 January 2020
In this issue:
- Royal Commission implementation: extending BEAR to RSE licensees – Financial Accountability Regime
- Royal Commission implementation: compensation scheme of last resort – reminder
- Building on the Consumer Data Right
Royal Commission implementation: extending BEAR to RSE licensees – Financial Accountability Regime
One of the recommendations made in the Final Report of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (Royal Commission) was to extend the BEAR to all registrable superannuation entity (RSE) licensees (recommendations 3.9, 6.8). (See ASFA Action issue 697 for more details).
Treasury has released a proposals paper on extending the Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) to all APRA regulated entities, with the expanded regime to be known as the Financial Accountability Regime (FAR). It outlines the Government’s proposed model to implement:
- Recommendation 3.9 – the BEAR be extended to all RSE licensees
- Recommendation 4.12 – the BEAR be extended to all APRA regulated insurers
- Recommendation 6.6 – the ASIC and APRA jointly administer the BEAR
- Recommendation 6.7 – the obligations be amended to make clear that an authorised deposit taking institution (ADI) and accountable person must deal with APRA and ASIC in an open, constructive and co-operative way
- Recommendation 6.8 – the BEAR should be extended to all APRA regulated financial services institutions and that APRA and ASIC should jointly administer those new provisions.
The paper also outlines how BEAR may be extended to solely ASIC regulated entities, a further commitment made by the Government.
The proposed FAR will have a stronger penalty framework for corporate and financial misconduct. It will include, for example, individuals being subject to civil penalties for breaches of their accountability obligations.
While the Government has not yet determined an implementation timeframe for the FAR, it still plans to consult and introduce legislation to implement FAR by the end of 2020 (see ASFA Action issue 718 for more details).
If you have any feedback on the proposals paper that you would like ASFA to consider, please forward it to Maggie Kaczmarska by close of business, Friday 7 February.
Royal Commission implementation: compensation scheme of last resort – reminder
As reported in ASFA Action issue 732, the Government has released a discussion paper on establishing a compensation scheme of last resort (CSLR) for the financial services industry.
In its final report, the Royal Commission recommended that the Government implement a CSLR adopting the key recommendations made in 2017 by the Ramsay Review of the financial system external dispute resolution and complaints framework (recommendation 7.1, see ASFA Action issue 697). In its response, the Government agreed to establish an industry-funded, forward-looking CSLR.
If you have any feedback on the consultation paper that you would like ASFA to consider, please forward it to Julia Stannard by close of business, Wednesday 29 January.
Building on the Consumer Data Right
The Government has launched an inquiry to examine ways in which the Consumer Data Right (CDR) can further support innovation and competition.
The CDR is intended to provide consumers with greater access to their personal information, giving them the power to instruct businesses to provide safe and secure access of their data to trusted third parties. This will allow consumers to more easily compare offers in the market and to take advantage of them should they wish to do so. The CDR will also facilitate the entry of new competitors into relevant markets.
The CDR is to apply initially to the banking sector, followed by the energy and telecommunications sectors. As part of its final report: Superannuation: assessing efficiency and competitiveness, the Productivity Commission recommended that the CDR be extended to superannuation. The Senate Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology is currently considering how quickly that extension should occur (see ASFA Action issue 726).
The inquiry will report by September 2020. Its terms of reference have been published and an issues paper will be made available in early 2020.
ASFA REGULATORY WATCHLIST
ASFA’s Regulatory Watchlist (ARW) tracks developments in Legislation, inquiries, consultations
and other regulatory announcements relevant to superannuation.