In a letter to the editor of the News Corp-owned Courier Mail, ASIC commissioner Greg Tanzer said recent articles in the paper had “missed the mark”.
An editorial had stated that ASIC’s decision to drop an investigation into Townsville Bank of Queensland (BoQ) franchisees Declan Carnes and Matthew Buchanan was an “abrogation of the regulator’s responsibility” and showed “lack of interest”.
In response, Mr Tanzer defended the regulator, saying that ASIC had achieved its aim, which was to recover compensation for Storm investors.
“ASIC’s action has resulted in around $360 million being paid in compensation to investors caught up in the collapse, including the Bank of Queensland agreeing to pay out nearly $17 million to its customers who suffered losses,” Mr Tanzer in a statement.
“A proper consideration of ASIC’s enforcement record will show that there have been many actions taken against major banks, including UBS, BNP, Macquarie Bank, ANZ and the Commonwealth Bank to name but a few.”
However, Mr Tanzer did not comment directly on the case of Mr Carnes and Mr Buchanan in his letter to the editor, focusing instead on the regulator’s broader enforcement record.
“In the last five years, we have removed 69 advisers from the industry temporarily or permanently, secured 19 criminal outcomes, entered into 25 enforceable undertakings and had 23 licenses cancelled,” he wrote.
As reported by the Courier-Mail last month, Justice Jean Dalton took aim at Mr Carnes, co-owner of the BoQ North Ward franchise in Townsville, during a trial in the Supreme Court in Brisbane relating to his decision to use a disabled man’s wheelchair-adapted home as security for a business loan.
During final submissions, Justice Dalton said she “thought he was a cowboy”, while Mr Carnes himself admitted that there had been “inappropriate” and “inexplicable” behaviour by staff in his branch.
As a result of the case, BoQ has said that it will further investigate Mr Carnes.
When contacted by ifa, an ASIC spokesperson said, “In relation to the Bank of Queensland matters which have been reported on in the Courier-Mail, our standard policy is not to comment on operational matters, this includes whether ASIC is looking into a particular matter or persons, or not.”
Lloyd, investors need to take on responsibility also you know. Sure Storm bent the rules or pushed salesman techniques to ill informed pensioners or families BUT, they can not possibly be a clueless naive innocent person just hoodwinked 100%. They MUST of known there was risk involved, surely to some degree. I do not believe ALL of them were naive. Much easier & beneficial to them & the lawyers involved to plead deceit & blame the adviser. I’m not supporting storm in anyway, I know the double gearing product that Colonial/CBA helped them sell is a dangerous strategy but you can’t tell me they didn’t realise there was some risk involved. SURELY they must take on some responsibility for their actions. Sorry, the time for polically correct bear hugs needs to stop. I refuse to let someone plead ignorance every time the market doesn’t go their way and blame the adviser every time. Sorry, it’s just too greedy&clever to pull the stupidity card every time it goes wrong & be silent in booms.
Well said Lloyd but we are fighting a battle was cannot win – Vertical integration by Banks, a regulator ASIC that causes more problems than assistance.
Nothing will change unless heads roll, starting with ASIC “commissioners” these clowns would starve to death if they had real jobs
If I get held up and robbed on the street and the thief is caught then the police arrest the criminal, all stolen property is returned and the thief usually gets time in jail.
If I seek financial advice with Storm (backed up by the banks lending money to people who cannot pay it back) and is lost due to poor management. Then I only get 30% back, the police (read ASIC who protect the banks, read thief) do not arrest anyone and it is business as usual for banks and ASIC – bottom line is the public lose 70%, the banks are sorry (they paid back 30%) , ASIC is sorry(they did nothing) and the CEO of Storm is sorry (but is still quite rich and not in jail)
Not good enough ASIC. Heads need to roll. You were all clueless or lazy. Likely to be both. You need to hand the industry some scalps or you will be a laughing stock forever.
I’ll wait for your announcement.
[quote name=”Paul”]What about ASIC’s bigger mistake of not stopping the inappropriate advice being given by Storm in the first place? By all accounts Storm was clearly breaching the regulations that existed at the time, and ASIC was made well aware of it at the time.[/quote]
Judging by the article, ASIC sees its job as not to prevent illegal behaviour but to make sure anyone who suffers is compensated – but only once 100’s of complaints have been lodged and only if someone agrees to pay the compensation.
Not only did plenty of people raise concerns with ASIC years before they stepped in, but the very model of Storm’s “advice” (i.e. gear until you can’t gear any more and then gear again) should have rung alarm bells.
Add to that the fact that the Storm founders had previously been sacked by NAB for dodgy dealings, how many more alarm bells do ASIC need?
Australian Securities and Investments CLOWNS.
ASIC really is the last of the great pretenders. How the head of the organisation has kept his job is beyond belief. When Trio was exposed he should have been immediately sacked then. Clearly if you want a super high paying position where you don’t do much and you can just prance around to make it look like your doing something, ASIC is the place to be.
Wow, but if we forget to dot an i or cross a t we are in big trouble right?
What about ASIC’s bigger mistake of not stopping the inappropriate advice being given by Storm in the first place? By all accounts Storm was clearly breaching the regulations that existed at the time, and ASIC was made well aware of it at the time. As a consequence of ASIC failing to act then, we now have unnecessarily costly and complex over regulation, and ongoing loss of consumer confidence. Fewer Australians are receiving professional financial advice, and more Australians are making their financial decisions based on misleading advertising & PR.
But Greg you forgot to mention that you have told the big banks who engaged in systemic non-compliance over an extended period that they were “very naughty” and they have said sorry.
More ASIC incompetence and failing to recognise their own inadequacies. We need a Royal Commission into ASIC. Most financial collapses we have seen, and certainly the ones I have personally reported to ASIC could have been stopped or at least had investor funds lost reduced if ASIC had not been asleep at the wheel Again.
wow there’s a NEW news story – ASIC chases adviser and the ‘banker’ goes free. what does the government do – nothing. They have 69 scalps aready. Job done and performance bonuses paid