Consultation on Financial Market Infrastructure Regulatory Reforms

The Council of Financial Regulators (CFR) has today released a consultation paper seeking comments on proposed financial market infrastructure regulatory reforms.

Financial market infrastructures include market operators, benchmark administrators, clearing and settlement facilities and derivative trade repositories. These infrastructures provide critical services relied upon by investors and businesses in order to raise capital and finance, borrow and lend funds, invest in equities and debt securities and manage the risks associated with their activities.

The paper sets out three broad groups of reforms proposed by the CFR:

• Enhancing the licensing regimes. These reforms are designed to make sure that licensing regimes for financial market infrastructures are fit for purpose and effective into the future.
• Enhancing supervision and enforcement. These reforms will provide enhanced powers for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Reserve Bank of Australia to support their supervision of financial market infrastructures, and their ability to take action to address any identified deficiencies.
• Crisis management and resolution. This reform will introduce a resolution regime for clearing and settlement facilities.

The CFR is seeking comments on the proposals in the paper. The closing date for submissions is 20 December 2019. Submissions can be sent to: fmiconsultation@cfr.gov.au