ASIC has finally lent some weight to an idea that I have been proposing for ages (see here). From Banking Day today:
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is reviewing whether it should mandate a set of industry standards that have been drawn up for RMBS issuers.
ASIC chairman Greg Medcraft told delegates at the Australian Securitisation Forum (ASF) conference, held in Sydney yesterday, that his organisation supported a set of standards drawn up by the ASF.
The standards cover disclosure, loan information, arrears calculation and reporting, and alignment of incentives (skin in the game).
The ASF has recommended that all issues of residential mortgage-backed securities in the Australian market comply with the standards by July next year.
Medcraft said the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Government were considering giving the standards regulatory backing. ASIC is also looking at the issue of disclosures in relation to covered bonds.
Medcraft said: "We will conduct surveillance and check the level of uptake of the industry standards.
"Our current policy is to have a disclosure regime for retail but not wholesale investors.
"But we do note that in other markets disclosure requirements are being considered for wholesale investors. The SEC [the US Securities and Exchange Commission] is working on loan-level disclosure rules for RMBS.
"We are interested in hearing from the industry about whether the standards should have regulatory backing."
He said the Government was looking to the industry to produce relevant disclosure standards for covered bond issues. ASIC will be asking for industry comment on whether these standards should also be mandated.
