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☆ Australia goes on cyber offensive with sweeping resilience plan
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-22 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Broken Ethernet cable is seen in front of binary code and words "cyber security" in this illustration taken March 8, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Australia will give cyber health checks for small businesses, increase cyber law enforcement funding and introduce mandatory reporting of ransomware attacks under a security overhaul announced on Wednesday after a spate of attacks. "We cannot continue as we have," Cyber Security and Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil told reporters in Sydney. Unveiling the seven-year strategy, O'Neil said that while large businesses received some of the biggest cyber attacks, they typically recovered, but attacks on small and medium-size businesses could be terminal. "Minister O'Neil's Strategy establishes cyber security as a unifying nationwide endeavour," he added.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Clare O'Neil, O'Neil, Aidan Tudehope, O'Neil's, telco, Byron Kaye, Stephen Coates Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Labor, Security, Home Affairs, Australian Cyber Security, U.S, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Macquarie Technology, telco Optus, Singapore Telecommunications, Medibank, Thomson Locations: Australia, Sydney, Britain

☆ Australia regulator targets 'carbon neutral' claims in greenwashing crackdown
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Office buildings are seen amidst the easing of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions in the Central Business District of Sydney, Australia, June 3, 2020. ASIC has filed three lawsuits alleging unfounded environmental claims by two pension funds and a personal finance platform, and named so-called greenwashing as one of its priority enforcement areas for 2024. she added.,The regulator would hold investment distribution platforms accountable for the products they sell. So far, the regulator had issued interim orders to stop the distribution of some 80 investment products which it considered inappropriate. "For a number of those stop orders, the issuers of the products did step back, they've corrected ... and they've reissued it," she said.

Persons: Loren Elliott, Sarah Court, they've, Byron Kaye, Ayushman, Subhranshu Sahu, Miral Organizations: Central Business District of, REUTERS, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Thomson Locations: Central Business District of Sydney, Australia, Melbourne, Sydney

A board displaying stock prices is adorned with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) logo in central Sydney, Australia, February 13, 2018. That will, however, take time, with the overhaul now expected to finish in 2029, some 13 years after it began. It also prompted the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to open an investigation into the exchange's disclosures about the project. ASX said it expected the first stage of the new project, clearing software, to cost between A$105 million and A$125 million with delivery around 2026. The cost and timing of the settlement and other software will be decided in 2024.

Persons: David Gray, Tim Whiteley, Joe Longo, Longo, Byron Kaye, Himanshi, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Australian Securities Exchange, REUTERS, Tata Consultancy Services, New, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, India, Finland, Canada, New York, Bengaluru

☆ Australian bourse operator partners with TCS for long due trading software overhaul
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-19 | by ( Himanshi Akhand | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A board displaying stock prices is adorned with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) logo in central Sydney, Australia, February 13, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsNov 20 (Reuters) - Australian bourse operator ASX Ltd (ASX.AX) said on Monday it entered a deal with TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) <TCS.NS> to design and replace its trading, clearing and settlement system, after months of backlash since pulling a blockchain-based overhaul of the system last year. The estimated cost for the first release of the Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) project is between A$105 million ($68.33 million) and A$125 million, to be incurred over multiple years, ASX said. ASX's initial attempt to overhaul CHESS earned rebuke from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and Reserve Bank of Australia, with the regulators demanding more thorough reporting on plans to update the 30-year-old software. ($1 = 1.5366 Australian dollars)Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru Editing by Chris Reese and Diane CraftOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: David Gray, Joe Longo, Helen Lofthouse, Himanshi, Chris Reese, Diane Craft Organizations: Australian Securities Exchange, REUTERS, TATA Consultancy Services, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Reserve Bank of Australia, Accenture, TCS, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Australian, Bengaluru

Broken Ethernet cable is seen in front of binary code and words "cyber security" in this illustration taken March 8, 2022. "We're also seeing a greater interest from state actors in Australia's critical infrastructure." In May, the Five Eyes intelligence alliance and Microsoft (MSFT.O) said a state-sponsored Chinese hacking group was spying on U.S. critical infrastructure organisations. Techniques used by the China hacking group could be used against Australia's critical infrastructure including telecommunications, energy and transportation, the report said. Marles said Australia's relationship with China, its largest trading partner, was "complex" and the government had never pretended the relationship would be easy.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, cybercrime, Richard Marles, We're, Marles, Matthew Warren, Nigel Phair, Renju Jose, Byron Kaye, Lincoln, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, U.S, Australian Cyber Security, ABC Radio, Microsoft, RMIT University Centre, Cyber Security Research, Australian Securities and Investments, Australia, Monash University, DP, Optus, Thomson Locations: Britain, U.S, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, China, Sydney

☆ Aussie lender ANZ loses case over troubled 2015 share placement worth $1.6 billion
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"The landmark case reaffirms the importance of the continuous disclosure rules to maintain market integrity," the ASIC said in a statement on Friday. "The decision also confirms that a significant take-up of shares by underwriters in a capital raising may be considered price sensitive information requiring market disclosure." The maximum penalty under the court decision is A$1 million, ANZ said. The bank is reviewing the court judgement, it said, while the securities regulator said it would now make submissions on appropriate penalties. ($1 = 1.5838 Australian dollars)Reporting by Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Steven Saphore, Sameer Manekar, Rashmi Organizations: New Zealand Banking Group, ANZ, REUTERS, Australia's ANZ, underwriters, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Citigroup Inc, Deutsche Bank AG, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, Thomson Locations: Australia, Sydney, Bengaluru

☆ Australian regulator sues crypto exchange for design, distribution failures
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Sept 21 (Reuters) - Australia's corporate regulator said on Thursday it had initiated civil proceedings against Bit Trade Pty Ltd, provider of the Kraken crypto exchange to Australian customers, for failing to comply with design and distribution obligations for its margin trading product. The design and distribution obligations (DDO) require firms to design financial products that meet the needs of consumers and distribute them in a targeted manner. Bit Trade's margin trading product is a credit facility as it provides customers credit to buy and sell certain crypto assets on the Kraken exchange, ASIC said. It said at least 1,160 customers had used the margin trading product, incurring a total loss of about A$12.95 million ($8.35 million) since DDO began in October 2021. ($1 = 1.5516 Australian dollars)Reporting by Himanshi Akhand in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja DesaiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: DDO, Sarah Court, Himanshi, Pooja Desai Organizations: Bit Trade, Ltd, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru

☆ Regulator sues AustralianSuper over multiple pension accounts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-08 | by ( Roushni Nair | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSept 8 (Reuters) - The Australian securities regulator said on Friday it initiated a lawsuit against the trustee of AustralianSuper, citing the country's largest superannuation fund failed to have adequate policies to identify members who held multiple accounts. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) started civil penalty proceedings alleging that AustralianSuper did not have substantial procedures for almost 10 years to help merge multiple accounts of a single member. AustralianSuper has more than 2.87 million members and A$258 billion ($164.48 billion) in member assets, as of June 30, 2022, according to the ASIC. "AustralianSuper regrets that its processes to identify and combine multiple accounts did not cover all instances of multiple member accounts. As of June 2022, three million people had multiple superannuation accounts in Australia, ASIC stated, adding that a significant proportion of these multiple accounts were held within the same fund.

Persons: Loren Elliott, AustralianSuper, Sarah Court, Hebe Chen, unreservedly, Roushni Nair, Devika Syamnath, Sherry Jacob, Phillips Organizations: REUTERS, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, IG Markets, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia, Australian, Bengaluru

☆ Australian regulator sues PayPal unit over unfair term in small business contracts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The PayPal logo is seen at an office building in Berlin, Germany, March 5, 2019. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said it has started proceedings against PayPal Australia Pty Ltd in a case that highlights a contract term that gives PayPal business account holders 60 days to notify discrepancies in fees charged. The regulator views the term as unfair as it authorises PayPal to retain fees it has inaccurately charged. "We allege this term is unfair because it allows PayPal to escape the consequences of its own errors in overcharging small businesses, and places additional burdens on small businesses to detect and correct charging errors," ASIC Deputy Chair Sarah Court said. As at June 30, there were about 608,275 business account contracts between PayPal and active users in the country.

Persons: Fabrizio Bensch, Sarah Court, Roushni Nair, Poonam Behura, Shailesh Organizations: PayPal, REUTERS, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, PayPal Australia, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Berlin, Germany, Bengaluru

☆ Australia passes law to encourage competition for main market operator ASX
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

A pedestrian is reflected in a window where an investor sits looking at a board displaying stock prices at the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) in Sydney, Australia February 9, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies ASX Ltd FollowSYDNEY, Sept 6 (Reuters) - Australia passed a law on Wednesday to support competition in post-trade settlement and clearing for financial markets, challenging the near-monopoly status held by ASX Ltd (ASX.AX). After ASX cancelled a costly overhaul of its trading platform, the federal government said it was opening up the market to let other players in. Though Australian financial regulators have called for greater competition in clearing and settlement functions for years, a failed overhaul of ASX's all-in-one legacy software system renewed pressure from market participants to challenge its near-monopoly. In other major financial markets, clearing and settlement, or confirming the transfer of stock ownership and updating share registries, are managed by separate entities to the market operator.

Persons: David Gray, Jim Chalmers, Byron Kaye, Simon Cameron, Moore Organizations: Australian Securities Exchange, REUTERS, ASX Ltd, Senate, Reserve Bank of Australia, Australian Securities and Investments, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia

☆ Westpac acknowledges legal proceedings on financial hardships negligence
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Loren Elliott Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Westpac Banking Corp FollowSept 4 (Reuters) - Australia's Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) on Tuesday said it was aware of legal proceedings launched by the country's corporate regulator alleging the lender's failure to assist its customers with financial hardship notices between 2015 and 2022. The legal proceedings are linked with a "technology failure" in which the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) claimed 229 applications for financial hardship assistance logged between 2015 and 2022 were not evaluated within 21 days, Westpac said in an email response to Reuters. "This error meant we didn't provide some of our customers with the help they needed. For this, we are deeply sorry," said Westpac Group Chief Information Officer Scott Collary. Over the alleged period of breach, Westpac received about 630,000 applications for hardship assistance, the company told Reuters.

Persons: Loren Elliott, Scott Collary, Roushni Nair, Sandra Maler Organizations: Westpac, Central Business District of, REUTERS, Rights Companies Westpac Banking, Australia's Westpac Banking Corp, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Reuters, Westpac Group, Australia's National, Thomson Locations: Central Business District of Sydney, Australia, Bengaluru

☆ Deloitte Australia CEO admits he isn't worth his $2.3 million pay package in a public hearing over salaries and misconduct at consultancy firms
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Deloitte executives were questioned about the company's integrity at a public hearing on Monday. During the hearing, Deloitte Australia's CEO Adam Powick admitted to being overpaid. Powick reportedly earns $3.5 million AUD ($2.3 million). The CEO of Deloitte Australia admitted to being "incredibly privileged" for his hefty $3.5 million AUD ($2.3 million) pay packet at a public hearing on Monday, according to various local news reports. The CEO, who reportedly earns $3.5 million AUD ($2.3 million), was then asked by Pocock: "Are you really worth seven times the salary of the Australian prime minister?"

Persons: Adam Powick, Powick, Adam Powick –, –, Tom Imbesi, Barbara Pocock, Pocock, didn't, Anthony Albanese, Sneza Pelusi Organizations: Deloitte, Deloitte Australia, PWC, Reuters, ABC, Australia's, ABC News, Australian Securities and Investments Commission Locations: Australia, PWC Australia

The cost to make a flat white, one of the most popular Australian coffee orders, jumped by nearly one-fifth. The result is smaller profits, a shrinking pool of regular customers and business owners heading for the exit. Before COVID-19, hospitality venues were about one-third of Australian small businesses advertised for sale. It paused in July but warned it may resume hiking if inflation, still running at 7%, fails to slow. "Some of my regulars I used to have will still come and get coffee and say, 'We had to bring lunch.

Persons: Jack Hanna, Hanna, Damian Krigstein, Peter Meredith, Guy Cooper, insolvencies, Patrick Coghlan, that's, David Cox, Cox, Byron Kaye, Lewis Jackson, Praveen Menon, Sonali Paul Organizations: Reuters, SBS Business, Link Business Sales Australasia, Australian Securities and Investments, Thomson Locations: SYDNEY, Europe, Sydney, Ukraine, Sydney's

☆ Australia's BNPL firm Zip to streamline cost and operations - official
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

July 3 (Reuters) - Australian buy-now-pay-later firm Zip Co (ZIP.AX) is further streamlining its operations and cost base following a recent review, a company official told Reuters on Monday. "Following a recent review, we have made decisions to further streamline our operations and cost base," Vivienne Lee, director for investor relations, said in an emailed comment. The new law would require BNPL firms to run credit checks before lending, notifying customers when credit limits increase and following dispute resolution processes. It also aims to reduce cash burn from the rest of its global operations by the end of 2023. Shares of Zip, which tanked over 88% last year, are down nearly 16% this year as of Monday's close.

Persons: Vivienne Lee, Zip, Ayushman Ojha, Nausheen Thusoo, Rashmi Aich, Dhanya Ann Thoppil Organizations: Co, Reuters, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Thomson Locations: Australia, Central, Eastern Europe, South Africa

☆ Australian general insurers to repay $550 million over pricing misconduct
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 23 (Reuters) - Australian general insurers will repay A$815 million ($550.29 million) to more than 5.6 million consumers due to their systemic failures in delivering on pricing promises, the country's corporate regulator said on Friday. A report published by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) found insurers did not always have adequate oversight and controls over the pricing promises made or delivered by the distributors of their products. Acting upon pricing failures reported since Jan. 1, 2018, ASIC's Deputy Chair Karen Chester said systemic pricing failures were a result of "unnecessary complexity in pricing promises and pricing practices — accounting for the lion's share (at least A$379 million) of the remediation". Back in October 2021, the regulator had directed 11 general insurers, including Insurance Australia Group (IAG.AX), QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited and the local subsidiary of Allianz (ALVG.DE) to complete comprehensive reviews to find, fix, report and repay customers for pricing failures. "It's now up to the boards of general insurers to ensure the prompt and full repayment of the A$815 million owed to their 5.6 million customers, implement the fixes needed and rebuild consumer trust," added Chester.

Persons: Karen Chester, It's, Jaskiran Singh, Krishna Chandra Organizations: Australian Securities and Investments Commission, Insurance Australia Group, QBE Insurance, Allianz, Thomson Locations: Australian, Australia, Chester, Bengaluru

☆ Interim stop order for Humm's BNPL products revoked
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

May 29 (Reuters) - Australian fintech company Humm Group (HUM.AX) said on Monday an interim stop order issued by the country's corporate regulator restricting it from issuing buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) products to new customers had been revoked. The interim stop order issued last week against Humm's unit was related to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission's (ASIC) concerns regarding the target market determination for its BNPL products. Target market determination rules require issuers of BNPL products to consider whether a product aligns with the financial objectives, circumstances and needs of consumers. "Hummgroup has addressed ASIC's concerns regarding the target market determination for the humm Buy Now Pay Later product," the company said in statement. The company's BNPL product is again available to new customers following the revocation, it added.

☆ Australia's AMP fined $16.3 mln for charging fees to deceased clients
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

The penalty ordered by the court was under proceedings brought forward by the country's corporate regulator, Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), in 2021 against AMP trustees – AMP Super and NM Super, AMP Financial Planning, AMP Life and AMP Services. AMP had disclosed in 2018 that it had charged thousands of customers for financial advice it never gave, despite knowing they had deceased as it had no system in place to prevent dead clients from being billed. The company said the court has charged AMP Life and AMP Financial Planning with the fine. The penalty handed down was fully provisioned for by the company in its financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022, AMP said. ($1 = 1.4743 Australian dollars)Reporting by Riya Sharma in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh VenkateshwaranOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Australian banks' bid to shake mortgage reliance brings new risks
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

"When there's a macroeconomic downturn, it's generally institutional and business lending exposures that are impacted first," he added. For decades, Australian housing finance has significantly outpaced business lending, making home loan margins the engine of profits. A more recent exodus from non-lending retail services like financial advice has further weighted banks' allocation of capital to residential property. The big four banks said in earnings updates this month that their net interest margins peaked in late 2022 and have since narrowed. To hedge against interest rates risks, the Big Four may now chase new services-based revenues from commercial clients in non-lending segments, added Garland.

☆ Australia's key financial regulators to review global banking turmoil
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-28 | by ( Renju Jose | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, March 28 (Reuters) - Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers will convene a meeting of the country's top financial regulators to check how the latest volatility in global financial markets could affect the country, an official in the treasurer's office said on Tuesday. Australia's Council of Financial Regulators (CFR) will meet on Thursday after Chalmers discussed the latest market turmoil in phone calls with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday and European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde overnight. "It's clear from my conversations that international authorities are prepared to do what's necessary to reassure markets at a time of uncertainty and volatility," Chalmers said in a statement. The discussions with key global financial officials come ahead of meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. from April 10 to 16, which Chalmers is expected to attend. Coordinated action by global central banks and international financial authorities have helped ease some concerns but the volatility is contributing to uncertainty more generally in the global economic outlook, Chalmers said.

☆ Former director of Tesla Australia sentenced for insider trading
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

March 21 (Reuters) - A former director of Tesla Inc's (TSLA.O) Australian unit was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment and will be released immediately on the condition of "good behaviour", Australia's corporate watchdog said on Tuesday. The sentence follows the former director's guilty pleas to two insider trading offences tied to a supply deal the electric-car maker signed with Piedmont Lithium Inc (PLL.O) in 2020, according to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Schlosser sold the shares for a realised profit of $28,883.53 after the agreement became public, according to the watchdog. The regulator added that Schlosser communicated information to a friend "in circumstances where it was likely" that the person would acquire Piedmont shares. Tesla and Piedmont Lithium did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comments.

☆ Australian regulator says banks paid $3.10 bln in compensation for wrongly charged fees
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

[1/3] Australian dollars are seen in an illustration photo February 8, 2018. REUTERS/Daniel MunozMarch 10 (Reuters) - Australia's corporate watchdog said the country's six largest banking services providers have paid or offered A$4.7 billion ($3.10 billion) in compensation to customers who suffered losses for fees charged for services that were not provided. The largest business lender in Australia, NAB, took the lead and coughed up A$1.49 billion in compensation as of the end of 2022, followed by CBA and Westpac coughing up a payout of A$1.13 billion and $1.03 billion, respectively. ASIC said its final update on remediation figures "draws a line" under its eight-year long programme of addressing financial institutions' failure to provide ongoing services to fee-paying customers. ($1 = 1.5177 Australian dollars)Reporting by Riya Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Rashmi AichOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ PayPal tells Australia it supports buy-now-pay-later regulation
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

SYDNEY, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Payments giant PayPal Holdings Inc (PYPL.O) wants buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) loans subjected to consumer protection law, it said in a submission to the Australian government, adding a powerful voice from inside the sector calling for regulation. Many other companies which sell BNPL loans said in submissions that they supported minimal or self-regulation. BNPL companies attract shoppers by charging no interest and make money from retailer fees. The company saw "merit in further consideration of the development of a bespoke BNPL credit reporting framework" without the full "costs typically associated with engaging in the credit reporting regime". The government has said it wants BNPL regulation in place in 2023.

☆ Australian stock exchange's blockchain failure burns market trust
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +11 min

That 96% of that software is working," Hogben told a Stockbrokers and Investment Advisers Association conference, in footage seen by Reuters. More than a dozen brokers, other market participants and people directly involved in the blockchain project told Reuters the failure had shaken trust in the Australian exchange operator. After New York startup Digital Asset Holdings showed ASX executives a test transaction on its blockchain software, ASX in early 2016 signed the little-known company to begin exploratory work on an overhaul. From an initial plan to run about 12 of CHESS's 400 data transfers per transaction on blockchain, ASX decided the new system would include all 400 transfers, the person said. Its spokesperson told Reuters there was "no off-the-shelf solution available to meet the needs of the Australian market".

☆ Australian regulator sues comparison site over crypto product
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Byron Kaye | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Australia's corporate regulator sued the country's biggest comparison website on Thursday in relation to a cryptocurrency product, accusing it of conducting unlicensed financial services and breaching consumer protection laws. ASIC Chairman Joe Longo said in parliament this month that the regulator wants to test in court whether crypto assets count as financial products under the law. As of September, Finder Wallet owed A$20.8 million ($14.2 million) to consumers in the absence of legal protections, the cour filing added. A Finder.com spokesperson told Reuters the company did "not share ASIC's view that Finder Earn can be regarded as a debenture" and said all customer money was returned when the product was closed in November. ($1 = 1.4646 Australian dollars)Reporting by Byron Kaye; Editing by Stephen CoatesOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

SYDNEY, Nov 28 (Reuters) - When Melbourne barista Melinda Elliott had to cut back on casual work shifts this year, she asked her buy-now, pay-later (BNPL) provider, Afterpay, to lower her credit limit. "There was no email to say, 'your credit limit's gone up again'; it was out of nowhere," said Elliott by phone. The absence of interest charges has exempted them from consumer credit regulation, and the sector's business has grown strongly during an online shopping frenzy spurred by COVID-19 stimulus payments and ultra-low interest rates. If they come under regular consumer credit regulation, they will also lose their main competitive advantages. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission, which oversees the Credit Act, told Reuters it was "supportive of the BNPL sector being subject to regulation".

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