The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) announced this Friday that it had canceled a number of Australian Financial Service (AFS) licenses, including that of FS Securities (Qld) Pty Ltd.

FS Securities appears to be a stockbroking firm. According to the following website, http://www.fssecurities.com/, which Finance Magnates believes to belong to the entity, the company provides stock market trading in equities, futures, options, contracts for differences (CFDs) and foreign exchange (forex).

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According to the statement provided by the Australian regulator, the license cancellation took effect on the 5th of March 2020. Namely, the license was revoked as FS Securities failed to comply with financial services laws and the conditions of its AFS license, the authority said.

“FS Securities did not meet the base level financial requirements of AFS licence holders for the 2017 and 2018 financial years. It also failed to lodge its annual financial reports and auditor reports for the financial years ending 2018 and 2019,” ASIC said in today’s statement.

FS Securities has held the AFS license number 410183 since the 1st of December 2011. According to the agency, ASIC may suspend or cancel an AFS license if the licensee fails to meet their obligations under the Corporations Acts 2001. Nonetheless, FS Securities has the right to seek a review of ASIC’s decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

ASIC changes priorities amid COVID-19

The ASIC has announced the AFS license cancellation at a difficult time for the regulator, as it tries to maintain market stability amid the coronavirus pandemic, which has brought high levels of volatility to the financial markets.

As Finance Magnates reported, the Aussie watchdog revealed that it will be changing its priorities amid the current coronavirus pandemic, and will refocus its regulatory efforts to deal with challenges created by the global crisis.

The Australian regulator will be refocusing its efforts until at least the 30th of September 2020. During this time, it will be dedicating its resources to responding to the pandemic, and address situations where there is the risk of significant consumer harm, serious breaches of the law, risks to market integrity and time-critical matters.