Australia
Police Raid Sydney Broker Evolution Capital in ASIC Trading Probe
- Reports link the inquiry to Vection Technologies, which used the broker for capital raising and published research.
- No charges have been announced, while the regulator has not disclosed the investigation's scope.
Thursday, 27/08/2026 | 08:02 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
Who Can Shut Down a Broker During an AI Attack? ASIC Wants an Answer Now
- Boards must assign escalation and shutdown authority, set recovery priorities and approve crisis communications in advance.
- Retail trading is exposed as agents gain access to client accounts, execution and internal risk systems.
Thursday, 27/08/2026 | 07:35 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
Revolut Has 1.2 Million Australians. Mortgages Could Be Next
- Fresh banking approval gives the fintech room to expand beyond payments and foreign exchange.
- Four major lenders control at least 70% of the market, and no product or launch date has been announced.
Tuesday, 18/08/2026 | 09:27 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
ASIC Flags Onboarding and Disclosure Gaps in Nine-Broker Review
- Five firms changed compliance practices, while two halted options onboarding during remediation.
- One provider left Australia after the review, and the regulator is considering further action.
Thursday, 13/08/2026 | 06:15 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
The CFD Payments Lab: Why Global Brokers Are Testing the Future in Australia
- Kristofer Rogers from Volt says CFD brokers like Pepperstone and Trade Nation are using Australia's payments ecosystem to validate new customer experiences before rolling them out more broadly.
- Nearly 73% of CFD account top-ups made via Australia's New Payments Platform, such as PayID and PayTo, occur outside standard 9-to-5 banking hours, with more than one in five (21%) taking place on weekends.
Friday, 07/08/2026 | 04:51 GMT by
Kristofer Rogers
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
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
23% of CMC Invest Clients Use AI for Investing, So the Broker Launched a Native Engine
- CMC Intelligence, developed in partnership with Telescope AI, can conduct market research and also access customer portfolios.
- Separately, CMC said its liquidity is now reaching brokers through iSAM Securities' Apex bridge, widening its institutional distribution.
Tuesday, 23/06/2026 | 05:19 GMT by
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
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
LTP Wins Australian License for Wholesale Clients Weeks Before ASIC Crypto Deadline
- The prime broker says the approval lets it advise on and deal in securities and managed investment schemes for institutional clients.
- The authorization lands roughly two weeks before ASIC's June 30 cutoff for unlicensed digital asset firms operating in Australia.
Monday, 15/06/2026 | 08:23 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
CMC Markets Brings Weekend Gold CFDs to Australia Two Months After UK Rollout
- The broker's Australian unit adds Saturday and Sunday access to gold, extending a product the group first launched in April.
- The move lands in a crowded week, with Sky Links Capital and Match-Prime announcing weekend gold products of their own.
Wednesday, 10/06/2026 | 06:07 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
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
Capital.com Takes Multi-Year Title Role as Australian Golf Open Is Rebranded
- Golf Australia partners the broker’s local subsidiary, linking the Australian Open and GA Handicap system.
- Earlier this year, the broker signed Vladimiros Tziortzis sponsorship for 2026 NASCAR Euro Series.
Friday, 15/05/2026 | 09:40 GMT by
Tareq Sikder
AUSTRAC Names AI and Crypto as New Laundering Layers Seven Weeks Before 80,000 New Firms Enter Regime
- Three risk updates flag AI-enabled identity fraud, virtual assets and trade-based laundering as fast-moving threats.
- The agency disclosed that North Korea-linked actors stole more than $2 billion in crypto from Bybit in 2025.
Wednesday, 13/05/2026 | 16:00 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
After 15-Month Investigation, Sydney Darknet Probe Leads to Seizure of 52 Bitcoin
- The cybercrime unit seized BTC worth 5.7M Australian dollars during a darknet investigation.
- Police called it a major crypto seizure linked to darknet activity, following a similar 2021 case.
Friday, 08/05/2026 | 15:42 GMT by
Tareq Sikder
"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
Four APAC Regulators Set Overlapping Crypto Deadlines in Q2 2026
- Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and South Korea are simultaneously overhauling digital asset frameworks between April and June.
- A new FM Intelligence analysis maps the licensing, reclassification, and operational mandates converging across the region in a single quarter.
Thursday, 09/04/2026 | 06:49 GMT by
Damian Chmiel
Coinbase Secures Australian License to Offer Equity Perpetuals and Derivatives
- Local hiring increases as Coinbase builds legal, compliance, marketing, and operations teams.
- Around 33% of Australians now hold cryptocurrency, growing use for payments observed.
Wednesday, 08/04/2026 | 12:52 GMT by
Tareq Sikder
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