Asic
ASIC Wants the CFD Capital Floor Frozen Until 2032
- The net tangible assets test for retail derivative issuers would run five years past its 2027 expiry.
- Brokers have had to hold the greater of AU$1 million or 10% of average revenue since January 2014.
Tuesday, 11/08/2026 | 05:48 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Removed 87 Firms and Individuals From Financial Services Last Year, Up From 58
- The regulator logged 150 administrative enforcement outcomes in the 2025-26 financial year, against 105 a year earlier.
- Credit was the exception, where removals and restrictions fell to 27 from 33.
Monday, 10/08/2026 | 05:34 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Reaches Auditors and a New Offshore Vehicle in A$1.1 Billion Super Collapse
- Two Federal Court filings in four days extend a case that now covers fund operators, platform trustees, advisers and auditors.
- About 11,000 Australians put retirement savings into the Shield and First Guardian funds before both stopped paying out.
Monday, 03/08/2026 | 06:57 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Moves to Cut Sell-Side Research Guide From 42 Pages to Eight
- The regulator wants research analysts closer to IPO preparation while keeping conflict controls in place.
- Rules separating analyst pay from corporate advisory revenue stay in the draft guide.
Thursday, 23/07/2026 | 07:48 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
Cheques and Balances: Former Forex.com and Invast Director Sentenced Over Suspected Scam Proceeds
- Brendan Gunn, a former director at GAIN Capital's Forex.com and ex-CEO of Invast Financial Services, has received a suspended 12-month sentence over AU$181,000 in suspected crypto scam proceeds. The sentencing is related to activities in his crypto firm, not the CFD brokers.
- He kept moving funds through Mormarkets bank accounts despite repeated fraud warnings from banks, months after ASIC first charged him in 2025 over the same conduct.
Thursday, 23/07/2026 | 05:24 GMT by
Arnab Shome
Contracts for a Third of the Bill: CFDs Drive ASIC's Record AU$830 Million Fine Haul
- ASIC secured a record AU$830 million (US$579.3 million) in civil penalties in the 2025-26 financial year, with AU$644 million (US$449.5 million) returned to Australians.
- A single AU$300.2 million (US$209.5 million) penalty against collapsed CFD broker Union Standard, EuropeFX and TradeFred made up roughly 36% of that entire annual total.
Monday, 20/07/2026 | 05:33 GMT by
Arnab Shome
ASIC Asks Court to Wind Up Capital Guard After A$17.4 Million Raised on Bonds That May Not Exist
- The regulator says investor money was spent in ways that do not match what clients were told, and that only a small slice remains in known accounts.
- A directions hearing in the Supreme Court of New South Wales is listed for July 20.
Tuesday, 14/07/2026 | 08:20 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Sets Retail CFD Levy 23% Lower for 2025-26 as Total Industry Bill Climbs to A$400 Million
- The estimated levy on retail OTC derivative issuers falls to A$128,388 per firm, down from A$166,679 a year earlier.
- The reprieve for CFD brokers runs against an 18.6% rise in ASIC's total recoverable costs, which is driven by the financial advice and insurance sectors.
Monday, 13/07/2026 | 07:18 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
Trive Lost Australia License after Ceasing Onboarding New CFD Traders a Year Ago
- The regulator highlighted that the broker's AFS license was cancelled because it had stopped providing services.
- The broker was one of the 52 CFD brokers ASIC assessed between October 2024 and December 2025 and had “serious deficiencies” in some of its processes.
Thursday, 09/07/2026 | 05:55 GMT by
Arnab Shome
$1.5 Million Raised for Forex Trading, Spent on Everything Else
- Trent Bowden admitted three charges of dishonestly using his position as a company director, each carrying a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
- ASIC says investors were told their money would go into FX trading, but the funds were spent on personal costs and payments to other investors.
Monday, 29/06/2026 | 06:28 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Hits Renew on Four Aging Market Rules
- The corporate regulator says the instruments work as intended and will carry over unchanged when remade.
- The proposal forms part of ASIC's wider effort to thin out aging rules before they lapse under a 10-year sunset clock.
Monday, 22/06/2026 | 06:15 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
Investment Scams Are Australia's Largest Loss Category. ASIC's Whitelist Hinges on Three Conditions
- New FM Intelligence analysis weighs the register against ASIC's two-year takedown record and the 2026 loss trajectory.
- Whether it lowers losses will turn on broker participation, ad-platform verification, and the treatment of authorized representatives.
Friday, 19/06/2026 | 10:19 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
HSBC Australia Caught Napping on Scams — and It's Going to Cost AU$35 Million
- HSBC Australia has admitted to letting scammers drain customers' accounts for years, and now faces a AU$35M penalty in one of the first global bank scam-liability cases of its kind.
- ASIC is seeking AU$35M from HSBC Australia after the bank admitted to inadequate scam controls, 144-day avg case resolution times, and awareness of impersonation fraud risks as far back as 2021.
Thursday, 18/06/2026 | 05:21 GMT by
Arnab Shome
ASIC to Publish Licensee Website Addresses in New Front Against Imposter Scams
- The regulator wants consumers to check genuine financial sites against an official list before they invest.
- Australia's watchdog says it may force licensees to comply if too few hand over their web addresses.
Wednesday, 17/06/2026 | 07:38 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASX Admits Misleading the Market on Its Blockchain CHESS Project, Agrees to A$20.5 Million Penalty
- The exchange operator told investors its CHESS settlement overhaul was progressing well, even as internal teams had flagged the work as red.
- The deal closes a case ASIC opened in 2024, though the regulator dropped two of its three original allegations to get there.
Monday, 15/06/2026 | 06:02 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
A 'Record Penalty': USGFX, EuropeFX and TradeFred to Pay AU$300M for ‘Egregious’ CFD Offerings
- It was the “record penalty” secured by ASIC in a regulatory matter.
- Union Standard’s Australian entity was slapped with the highest penalty of AU$156.7 million, while EuropeFX and TradeFred have to pay AU$114.1 million and AU$29.4 million, respectively.
Friday, 12/06/2026 | 05:35 GMT by
Arnab Shome
ASIC Hands Euroclear a May 2027 Deadline to Get Australian
- The Brussels-based settlement provider has a year to file for a clearing and settlement facility license.
- The move follows ASIC's June 2025 licensing of rival Clearstream, bringing both global ICSDs under domestic oversight for the first time.
Wednesday, 27/05/2026 | 05:18 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
Are Crypto Investors More Vulnerable to Scams? ASIC's Warning Indicates So
- The regulator’s warning indicates that Aussies are still falling for known scams that have targeted victims for years.
- 23 per cent of Aussie Gen Zs hold crypto. Is the younger generation too vulnerable to scams?
Monday, 25/05/2026 | 05:39 GMT by
Arnab Shome
ASIC Warns of "Lost Generation" Risk if Australia Falls Behind on Fintech and AI
- Chairman Joe Longo says the regulator wants to be a backer rather than a blocker.
- In the meantime, around half the market declined to take part in the watchdog's recent tokenization survey.
Thursday, 21/05/2026 | 12:00 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Cuts 45,000 Paper Filings a Year as Regulatory Simplification Push Targets 90% Digital by June
- The market watchdog says email lodgement now covers 88 forms, a 380% jump on the prior baseline.
- Industry submissions widened breach-reporting relief and halved internal dispute reports for small banks.
Tuesday, 19/05/2026 | 05:34 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
300% Returns Promise Ends in More Than 5 Years' Prison for Australian Adviser
- Ashley Arandez received 5 years and 6 months after pleading guilty to dishonest conduct and unlicensed financial services.
- The sentencing lands as ASIC escalates its push against scams targeting Australia's A$4 trillion superannuation system.
Tuesday, 12/05/2026 | 07:47 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
"Watchdogs Need to Both Bark and Bite": Joe Longo Defends ASIC's Aggressive Tilt in His Final Speech
- The outgoing Chairman pushed for a ban on unlicensed superannuation communications, citing organized fraud against retirement savers.
- Longo hands the role to deputy Sarah Court next month after a tenure that doubled investigations and quadrupled penalty totals.
Thursday, 07/05/2026 | 05:41 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Eyes Five-Year Extension of AFS Licensing Relief as October Deadline Looms
- The regulator is asking brokers, fund managers and advisers for feedback on remaking two relief instruments before they expire.
- The proposal lands as Australia's AFS license regime, the framework underpinning the country's CFD industry, faces a stack of fresh deadlines.
Tuesday, 05/05/2026 | 05:34 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
Australia's Digital Asset License Deadline Nears with 10% Turnover Penalty Looming
- ASIC has warned that its no-action position for unlicensed digital asset providers expires on June 30, 2026.
- Firms missing the cutoff risk civil and criminal penalties under Australia's financial services laws.
Monday, 04/05/2026 | 05:40 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
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