In a statement, ASIC said it issued Rommel Panganiban a notice of hearing last year after concerns were raised about his advice to about 50 clients while he was a representative of AMP Financial Planning.
Following the hearing, Mr Panganiban requested that ASIC provide him with documents, including his clients’ files.
When ASIC declined this request on the basis of confidentiality, Mr Panganiban filed an application in the Federal Court to restrain the regulator from making a banning order against him.
Mr Panganiban claimed that by failing to provide him with the client files, ASIC had denied him procedural fairness.
Mr Panganiban’s application was heard on 21 April 2016. On 13 May 2016, Justice Bromwich delivered his judgment, in which he dismissed the application and ordered Mr Panganiban to pay ASIC’s costs.
“His Honour confirmed that ASIC had not denied Mr Panganiban natural justice by failing to provide him with the requested material,” ASIC said.
“His Honour also stated that if the ASIC delegate decides to make a banning order, Mr Panganiban would have a right of review in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal where he would have the ‘opportunity to advance a case on the relevance of the client files in a forum that is legally and practically best equipped to deal with them in the course of making a merits review decision’.”
An ASIC delegate will now consider material prepared as part of ASIC’s surveillance of Mr Panganiban’s conduct to determine whether a ban from financial services is warranted, the statement said.
Mr Panganiban is currently an authorised representative of Lionsgate Financial Group.
