Australian regulator launches further crackdown on Macquarie Bank after compliance failures
KUALA LUMPUR: The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) on Wednesday imposed additional conditions on the Australian financial services licence of Macquarie Bank, owned by Macquarie Group, citing numerous serious compliance failures.
The bank's compliance shortcomings, some of which remained unnoticed for a decade, pertained to its futures dealing business and its over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives trade reporting, according to the ASIC.
The regulator's new conditions require Macquarie to prepare a remediation plan to address these failures and their root causes, enlist an independent expert to review and report on the remediation plan's sufficiency, and have the independent expert assess the effectiveness of Macquarie's remediation activities.
Shares of Macquarie Group were down 0.5 per cent by 0041 GMT, compared to a 0.1 per cent uptick in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index.
"Our intervention underscores our concern with the recurrent nature of Macquarie's failures, which were caused by ineffective supervision and weak compliance and control management," the ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant said.
Constant added that the ASIC was "particularly disappointed" as the company failed to prevent 11 suspicious orders being placed on the electricity futures market via their terminals shortly after the regulator referred similar failures to the Markets Disciplinary Panel, which fined the bank just under US$5 million back in September 2024.
The new licence conditions were set after the ASIC identified nine market conduct matters of concern in the last 18 months, it said.
The ASIC said these included seven matters relating to misreporting of over 375,000 OTC derivative transactions, and two futures dealing matters concerning the prevention and detection of suspicious trading activity and the withholding of orders on the ASX24 market.
Macquarie acknowledged the ASIC's announcement and said it has cooperated with the regulator and consented to the licence conditions.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Bursa's Energy Index breaks from pack on oil price rally
KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia's Energy Index rose to the top of sectoral gainers, driven by a global rally in oil prices amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. It was the only index to post a gain of over one per cent, bucking the broader downtrend across sectors that persisted into the afternoon session. As at 3pm, the 31-stock Energy Index had climbed 1.32 per cent, or 9.73 points, to 745.44. Year-to-date, the index is still down 10.23 per cent. Reservoir Link Energy Bhd, Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd and Dialog Group Bhd were among the most actively traded counters fuelling the sector's gains. At press time, Reservoir Link rose 1.35 per cent to 37.5 sen. The counter was the third most active with nearly 40 million shares changing hands, its highest single-day volume in at least six months. Hibiscus Petroleum led the gainers in the oil and gas space, surging 7.02 per cent or 12 sen to RM1.83 on 17.21 million shares traded. Bumi Armada Bhd edged up half a sen to 47.5 sen, while Dialog Group Bhd added four sen, or 2.60 per cent, to RM1.58 with 6.32 million shares traded. The rally in energy stocks followed a spike in global crude oil prices after United States military strikes on Iran intensified concerns of supply disruptions in the Middle East. Brent crude futures for August rose 2.4 per cent to US$79 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) climbed 2.5 per cent to US$73.84. Both benchmarks had earlier jumped as much as four per cent to hit four-month highs, with Brent briefly touching US$81 a barrel. At the time of writing, Brent and WTI were trading at US$77.51 and US$74.31 respectively, both up about 0.65 per cent on the day and marking their highest levels in a month. In Tehran, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed retaliation against "the Zionist enemy" in his first public statement since the US joined Israel's attacks on Iran. Market participants anticipate further price gains as fears grow that Iran may retaliate by closing the Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for about one-fifth of the world's crude oil supply. Back home, the FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI rose 0.51 per cent, or 7.62 points, to 1,510.36, rebounding from last Friday's close of 1,493.19. Apart from energy, financial services was the only other sectoral index in the green, up 0.43 per cent. The day's biggest sectoral decliners were the Transportation & Logistics, Technology, and Healthcare sectors, which fell 1.28 per cent, 1.23 per cent and one per cent respectively.
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Gold slips as dollar firms, markets await Iran response
A worker displays a one kilogram gold bullion bar at the ABC Refinery in Sydney on August 5, 2020. (Photo by DAVID GRAY/ AFP) Gold prices edged lower on Monday as investors favoured the dollar following the U.S. attack on key Iranian nuclear sites over the weekend, with markets closely watching for Iran's response. Spot gold was down 0.4% at $3,354.03 an ounce, as of 0532 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.5% to $3,369.10. "The U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities resulted in the dollar receiving safe haven buying flows in the currency market," KCM Trade Chief Market Analyst Tim Waterer said. "This USD uptick had pegged gold back and caused an uncharacteristically subdued performance from the precious metal despite risks stemming from the conflict." The dollar rose rose 0.3% against its rivals, making gold more expensive for other currency holders. U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday raised the question of a regime change in Iran following U.S. strikes against key military sites over the weekend, as senior officials in his administration warned Tehran against retaliation. Iran vowed to defend itself a day after the U.S. dropped 30,000-pound bunker-buster bombs onto the mountain above Iran's Fordow nuclear site. Meanwhile, Iran and Israel continued to trade volleys of missile attacks. An Israeli military spokesperson said Israeli fighter jets had struck military targets in western Iran. Shares slipped in Asia on Monday and oil prices briefly hit five-month highs, but there were no signs of panic selling across markets. The Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy report to Congress, released on Friday, said U.S. inflation remained somewhat elevated and the labor market was solid. On the technical front, spot gold may retest support at $3,348 per ounce, a break below could open the way toward $3,324, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao. Elsewhere, spot silver rose 0.1% to $36.02 per ounce, platinum was steady at $1,264.96, while palladium gained 0.6% to $1,050.07. - Reuters
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Oil surges to five-month high after US hits Iran's key nuclear sites
NEW DELHI: Oil prices jumped on Monday to their highest since January as the United States' weekend move to join Israel in attacking Iran's nuclear facilities stoked supply concerns. Brent crude futures were up $1.52 or 1.97% to $78.53 a barrel as of 0503 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude advanced $1.51 or 2.04% to $75.35. Both contracts jumped by more than 3% earlier in the session to $81.40 and $78.40, respectively, touching five-month highs before giving up some gains. The rise in prices came after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had "obliterated" Iran's main nuclear sites in strikes over the weekend, joining an Israeli assault in an escalation of conflict in the Middle East as Tehran vowed to defend itself. Iran is OPEC's third-largest crude producer. Market participants expect further price gains amid mounting fears that an Iranian retaliation may include a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly a fifth of global crude supply flows. "The current geopolitical escalation provides the fundamental catalyst for (Brent) prices to traverse higher and potentially spiral towards $100, with $120 per barrel appearing increasingly plausible," said Sugandha Sachdeva, founder of New Delhi-based research firm SS WealthStreet. Iran's Press TV reported that the Iranian parliament had approved a measure to close the strait. Iran has in the past threatened to close the strait but has never followed through. Iran and Israel exchanged air and missile strikes on Monday, as global tensions rose over Tehran's expected response to a U.S. attack on its nuclear facilities. "The risks of damage to oil infrastructure ... have multiplied," said Sparta Commodities senior analyst June Goh. Although there are alternative pipeline routes out of the region, there will still be crude volume that cannot be fully exported out if the Strait of Hormuz becomes inaccessible. Shippers will increasingly stay out of the region, she added. Goldman Sachs said in a Sunday report that Brent could briefly peak at $110 per barrel if oil flows through the critical waterway were halved for a month, and remain down by 10% for the following 11 months. The bank still assumed no significant disruption to oil and natural gas supply, adding global incentives to try and prevent a sustained and very large disruption. Brent has risen 13% since the conflict began on June 13, while WTI has gained around 10%. Given the Strait of Hormuz is indispensable for Iran's own oil exports, which are a vital source of its national revenues, a sustained closure would inflict severe economic damage on Iran itself, making it a double-edged sword, Sachdeva added. Meanwhile, Japan on Monday called for de-escalation of the conflict in Iran, while a South Korean vice industry minister voiced concern over the potential impact of the strikes on the country's trade. - Reuters
