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ISSUE 9.04 March 2012
ASIC: We’ve got some small fish to fry
Greg Kirk
ASIC has admitted its enforcement action will primarily target “high risk” smaller players
ASIC’s resources will often be spent pursuing smaller mortgage industry players, rather than going after the compliance breaches by major institutions, the regulator has conceded.
Senior executive leader of deposit takers, credit and insurers at the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, Greg Kirk, said limited resources meant a decision had to be made whether to pursue larger mainstream credit providers or go after smaller operators in the credit market. “We have limited resources, and there will never be enough resources to do what we’d like to do in the regulatory space,” Kirk said. “With mainstream providers
the things they tend to do which come in conflict with the regime are going to be on the margins. They’re mildly in breach or there’s a [slightly] questionable practice,” Kirk said. In ASIC’s view, smaller players are often the ones that have a more negative impact on consumers, and these “fringe” operators were more likely to flout regulations. “On the fringes you have people who are potentially operating completely illegally, or they’re licensed and don’t comply with the regime.” Kirk said ASIC is forced to decide which area to focus on. “There’s a constant question for us about how much of our resources we should spend on big mainstream providers that affect an awful lot of consumers, but the extent that they have a negative impact on them tends to be more minor, as opposed to spending a lot on a few small fringe players who don’t deal with many customers at all but can have a very exploitative approach and create very bad outcomes for the consumers involved,” Kirk said. ASIC focuses enforcement primarily where there are consumer complaints. “Our enforcement action is more often than not going to be arising from complaints, so it’s more likely to be reactive than proactive. My team has much more opportunity to be proactive, so the next step for us is to try to pick a few areas we feel are high risk,” he said. Page 20 cont.
Bar raised again Brokers face ‘Certified Practising Certificate’ hurdle Page 2
Jail threat reprieve? Liberation promised from NCCP jail punishment Page 4
View from Podium Software pushback tipped to fade with time Page 6
Inside this issue News feature 18 Segmentation showdown Viewpoint 22 Brokers talk on the banks Opinion 23 Funding volatility to remain Forum 24 Brokers on the MFAA Market talk 26 Refinance revival Insight 28 Getting cash flow positive People 29 Goodbye Westy