Friday June 8 2018

News Source: Fund Regulation

Focus: Other

Type: General

Country: Australia




The consultation paper is for foreign financial services providers (FFSPs) and other relevant stakeholders, such as users of the services provided by FFSPs.

It provides an update on the results of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) comprehensive review of our relief for FFSPs—following the temporary extension of the relief for a further two years—from the requirement to hold an Australian financial services (AFS) licence when providing financial services to wholesale clients in Australia.

This consultation paper seeks feedback on our proposals to:

  • repeal ASIC Corporations (Repeal and Transitional) Instrument 2016/396 and ASIC Corporations (Foreign Financial Services Providers—Limited Connection) Instrument 2017/182, with a 12-month transitional period; and
  • implement a modified AFS licensing regime for FFSPs to enable FFSPs to apply for and maintain a modified form of AFS licence (foreign AFS licence).

The ASIC comprehensive review of relief for FFSPs has identified supervisory and regulatory concerns about the current operation of the FFSP relief, as well as some changes in international regulation that apply to wholesale financial services providers that suggest that the policy reflected in the FFSP relief may no longer be appropriate: see Section B.

ASIC will extend the current FFSP relief for 12 months, until 30 September 2019, to allow time for industry to engage with the proposals in this paper.

This paper seeks feedback on proposals to:

(a) repeal the sufficient equivalence relief on 30 September 2019 and allow FFSPs to apply for a ‘foreign AFS licence’ (see Section C); and

(b) repeal the limited connection relief on 30 September 2019 to allow FFSPs to apply for a foreign AFS licence (see Section D).

ASIC are also seeking feedback on a proposed further 12-month transitional period—from 30 September 2019 to 30 September 2020—for FFSPs to comply with the requirements of the modified AFS licensing regime: see Section E.

Please click on the above link for more information.