August 24, 2009

The concept put forward by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission has emerged as a revealing indicator of the current investment climate. ASIC floated the idea last week in its submission to the parliamentary inquiry into the failure of Storm Financial and other corporate crashes.

ASIC said the proposal was one of several constituting "far reaching change" if the government concludes that the current finance sector regulations are inadequate. That such a seemingly radical idea would be put up for discussion suggests that there is a hunger for reform in the wake of Storm, which collapsed in December and wiped out the life savings of about 3000 small investors. Up to $3 billion has gone up in smoke.