• In Brief | Have the increasingly onerous demands on directors resulted in weaker not stronger corporate governance? The Australian reports that in a recent speech for the Australian Centre for Corporate Public Affairs, AMP Chair David Murray questioned whether the imposition of, and trend towards, imposing more stringent requirements on boards has led to management responsibilities being 'delegated up' to boards, preventing them from taking a broader view of issues facing a company.

• Japan | The revised Japanese Corporate Governance Code includes measures to increase diversity on Japanese boards, but Bloomberg suggests that the focus on improving representation of 'women and foreigners' is only part of the answer to addressing the lack of innovation in Japanese firms.
• In Brief | Hiring women isn't enough without support and a change in mindset: Despite efforts by the agencies in question to bolster female representation, a report issued by the US inspector general has found women in US law enforcement agencies remain underrepresented in leadership roles, are promoted less often than their male colleagues, and are unlikely to report discrimination because they distrust the process the WSJ reports.
• In Brief | The New York City Comptroller is expected to soon announce an initiative to overhaul corporate governance including mandatory disclosures about directors' ethnicity, gender and experience writes the New York Times.

• In Brief | ASIC has announced that Kimberley Diamonds executive chair Mr Alexandre Alexander has been acquitted on two charges in relation to issuing false or misleading information to the market following a jury trial in the district court of NSW after the jury was unable to reach a unanimous decision.

• France | French 'entrepreneur associations' Medef and Afep have reportedly brought forward plans to introduce a tougher corporate governance code for private companies and entrepreneurs which includes stricter regulation of executive departure clauses in response to the public outcry over recent excessive executive payouts. 

• ASIC Report 578 has reiterated calls for proxy advisers and companies to work together to ensure shareholders have the information they need to make informed voting decisions.  

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority

• 'Still more work to do': Parliamentary committee annual review of APRA has found that the regulator has more work to do to improve responsible lending practices.
• In Brief | The Treasury Laws Amendment (APRA Governance) Bill 2018 which proposes to amend the APRA Act to give the Governor-General the discretion to appoint a second APRA Deputy Chair has passed the House of Representatives and is currently before the Senate.

Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)

• Minister for Revenue and Financial Services Kelly O'Dwyer has welcomed the passage of the ASIC industry funding model legislation.
• SMSF advice needs significant improvement says ASIC: ASIC SMSF reports (Report 575 and Report 576) released.
• ASIC Report 579 has called on the OTC derivatives sector to raise standards: 'The integrity of the retail OTC derivatives sector is a key focus for ASIC' says ASIC Commissioner Cathie Armour.

Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry (Financial Services Royal Commission)

• Top Story | Financial Services Royal Commission Round 4 Hearings: Week 1 Farming Finance
• In Brief | Research commissioned by the Customer Owned Banking Association has found that trust in customer owned banks has increased in the wake of the Financial Services Royal Commission with 47% of the 1000 people polled stating that they have less trust in the big four banks and trust in credit unions, mutual banks and building societies rising between 15-18%.

Insurance

• Top Story | Consultation opened on extending unfair contract terms protections [UCT provisions] to insurance contracts.
• ACCC 2016-2017 annual PHI report released: ACCC has called on industry to deliver simpler, more transparent health insurance products.
• In Brief | APRA has released its general insurance claims development statistics publication, which details trends in claims payments and services across the general insurance industry by class of business for the December 2017 reference period.

Other Developments

• Signs of a trend away from the 'vertical integration' model? The CBA has announced it will demerge its wealth management and mortgage broking businesses and undertake a strategic review of its general insurance business including a potential sale.
• Asia Region Funds Passport update| The Minister for Revenue has welcomed the passage of Asia Region Funds Passport Bill and released draft regulations for consultation.
• Progress update | Treasury Laws Amendment (Protecting Your Superannuation Package) Bill 2018 has passed the House of Representatives; KPMG report cautions the measures will increase premiums.
• ASIC has launched civil penalty proceedings against AMP Financial Planning for alleged failures relating to insurance advices.
• In Brief | Black economy advisory board chair announced: Mr Michael Andrew AO, who led the Black Economy Taskforce in 2018 will chair the new board.
• In Brief | ASIC has announced it has accepted an enforceable undertaking from Dover Financial Advisers Pty Ltd and its sole director. Dover will cease operating its financial services business by 6 July 2018, apply to ASIC to commence the process to cancel its AFSL and the sole director will remove himself permanently from the financial services industry.
• In Brief | Update on new educational requirements for financial advisers: FASEA has confirmed that there are no approved AQF 8 graduate diplomas currently available and that it will consider such programs for accreditation in H2 2018 after further consultation with industry and with stakeholders. Reportedly up to one third of financial advisers are expected to exit the industry in response to new educational standards.
• In Brief | Past its peak? Reserve Bank of Australia's head of payments policy, Tony Richards has said: 'Distributed ledger technology has got big implications for the future. But trustless blockchains might not'.
• In Brief | Brexit plans: The Bank of England announced that HM Treasury has outlined its approach to onshoring financial services legislation under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act (EUWA) to ensure that there is a 'complete and robust legal framework for financial regulation in the UK, whatever the outcome of negotiations between the EU and the UK, when the UK withdraws from the EU on 29 March 2019'. This includes plans to lay a number of Statutory Instruments (SIs) to make the necessary legal changes, as a 'contingency against a scenario in which the implementation period, which has been agreed in principle as part of the UK's Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, does not take effect on 29 March 2019'.

• In Brief | The UK FRC has launched an investigation into the audit by Deloitte LLP of the financial statement of SIG plc for the years ended 31 December 2015 and 2016.
• In Brief | The absence of the numeral 4 in reports could be a predictor of other issues? US SEC has reportedly adopted methodology used by Stanford researchers to identify (potential) improper accounting issues (improperly rounding up their earnings per share to the next highest cent) at a number of US firms, The WSJ writes.
• In Brief | Jelena McWilliams is expected to take a more conservative approach to bank regulation as the new head of the US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation the WSJ writes.

Supply Chain Risk

• Top Story | Federal Modern Slavery Bill 2018 introduced: MinterEllison Partner Geraldine Johns-Putra, has commented that entities subject to the reporting requirements should be conducting assessments of their operations and supply chains and their risk management frameworks, to ensure they are ready to comply with the new requirements.
• In Brief | Thomson Reuters Foundation Annual Poll ranking the world's most dangerous countries for women specifically regarding healthcare, access to economic resources, customary practices, sexual violence, non-sexual violence and human trafficking has found India is the most dangerous country in the world for women. The US ranks tenth in the same survey.

Whistleblowing

• United States | Strengthening whistleblower protections: New legislation has re-authorised, renamed and made permanent the whistleblower protection ombudsman role.

Climate Risk

• In Brief | Setback for landmark climate law suits? A US Federal Judge has dismissed lawsuits by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland alleging oil companies: BP PLC; Royal Dutch Shell PLC; Exxon Mobil Corp; ConocoPhillips; and Chevron Corp should pay to protect the cities' residents from the impacts of climate change. Media reports suggest this has broader implications for many similar lawsuits still pending.

Other Developments

• United Kingdom | The Serious Fraud Office has charged Unaoil for alleged payment of bribes in Iraq.