Macquarie points to EU progress

Having had an EU accepted by ASIC in January 2013 – after surveillance found “recurring compliance deficiencies” among Macquarie Equities Limited advisers – the investment bank yesterday gave an update on its compliance with the EU program.

“The EU focused on the effectiveness of compliance, in particular processes, controls and systems previously in place in [Macquarie Private Wealth], such as record keeping, monitoring and supervision. As noted in the EU, which is available on ASIC’s website, MPW acknowledged ASIC’s concerns,” the statement said.

“Macquarie takes its regulatory obligations seriously and always seeks to ensure compliance with the requirements of all its regulators.

“MPW has completed three of the four phases of the implementation program, which is subject to independent oversight by ASIC and an Independent Expert, KPMG.”

The update comes as Macquarie yesterday released its results for the quarter ending June 30, revealing a decline in its capital markets-facing businesses.

Macquarie Group chief executive Nicholas Moore said the decline was due to “the timing of transactions and lower volatility and volumes impacting Macquarie Securities Group and certain fixed income, currencies and commodities (FICC) businesses”.