591-600 of 1439 results
The simple case of the SIS Act 'best interests' obligation
Commissioner Hayne's comments in his final report, and the surge of community interest in super, have resulted in a renaissance of sorts for the 'best interests' obligation. ...
Financial advice relief – all talk and no-action
We said at the outset of this pandemic that financial advice will play an important role in supporting members who are considering whether to access their super early. Alive to that, ASIC recently released a series of measures to facilitate access to financial advice ...
Providing financial services 'fairly'
The recent Federal Court decision in ASIC v AGM Markets has provided some much needed clarification of what it means to provide financial services 'fairly' in the context of the 'efficiently, honestly and fairly' obligation. ...
Retail banking and responsible lending during COVID-19
The sudden and unknown nature of COVID-19 has triggered a global economic shock, and disrupted Australia's economy. As we enter a national state of economic 'hibernation', banks and lenders are grappling with a sudden influx of relief requests from consumer and business customers. ...
Buyers and sellers beware! Expenditure deductions denied and gains taxed as income
Recent decisions handed down by both the High Court and Federal Court in relation to the 'income/capital distinction' and 'blackhole expenditure' have produced a mix of predictable and unexpected, but generally unfavourable, outcomes for taxpayers. Most buyers have been denied deductions for the pur ...
Green finance
Australia's 'green finance' market continues to grow steadily in response to global environmental challenges and to support sustainable development. Innovative financial products continue to be developed to direct capital towards green projects and to promote sustainability causes or ESG-related per ...
Carbon farming and the Emissions Reduction Fund / Climate Solutions Fund
The legislative regime for the generation of carbon credits from voluntary emissions reduction projects (otherwise known as 'carbon farming') in Australia was first established in 2014. ...
Treasurer temporarily amends continuous disclosure laws during COVID-19 crisis
The Treasurer has used his emergency powers under the Corporations Act (the Act) to temporarily modify the operation of Australia's continuous disclosure laws. The Treasurer's release states that the changes are designed to enable listed companies to more confidently provide earnings guidance ...
RBA expands repo eligibility to include corporate bonds
The RBA has announced changes aimed at kick-starting demand for corporate bonds in the COVID-19 environment. To take advantage of the RBA's support, corporate treasurers and their financial advisers should consider applying to have their securities eligible for purchase by the RBA, bearing in mind the eligibility criteria we have summarised in this note. ...
Good practice for exchange traded products: ASIC updates INFO 230 'Exchange traded products: Admission guidelines'
On 15 April 2020, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) released updated INFO 230 Exchange traded products: Admission guidelines (INFO 230) which outlines ASIC's view of good practices to help ensure that admission and monitoring standards for exchange traded products (ETPs) continue to support fair, orderly and transparent markets. ...