Governance News 21 August 2019

60 minute read (PDF download) 20.08.2019 Mark Standen, Siobhan Doherty, Kate Hilder

Among other things, this week's issue features coverage of the government's proposed implementation timetable for actioning the recommendations of the Hayne Commission and a summary of ASIC's latest enforcement report. In addition, this issue includes coverage of the Business Roundtable's redefinition of the purpose of a corporation.

Diversity Navigation Show below Hide below

United States | Challenging gender quotas: A Californian law setting minimum numbers of female board members has been challenged in court

Remuneration Navigation Show below Hide below

50 years is too long to close the gender pay gap in Australia? Chifley Research Centre has released a policy brief outlining four proposed policy changes to accelerate the pace of reform
United Kingdom | FTSE 100 CEO pay has fallen to the lowest level in five years according to Deloitte research
United States | Insights into emerging trends in NED pay practices: survey finds almost 40% of directors expect their time commitment to increase, but most won't receive additional compensation

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In Brief | Targeting 'dual class enablers'? CII has released a list of directors who served on US public company boards in 2018/2019 at the time they went public with dual-class share structures with no provision to 'sunset' the structure within seven years or less. 'Investors may want to raise concern about that in their engagement with other boards on which these directors serve' CII Executive Director Ken Bertsch said

Corporate social responsibility and sustainability Navigation Show below Hide below

Top Story | Companies are about more than maximising profits? Business Roundtable has issued a statement redefining the purpose of a corporation
In Brief | Leaders of industry should ignore advice to 'stick to their knitting' and pursue only profit while disregarding social and environmental issues. MinterEllison Partner Geraldine Johns-Putra and special counsel Sarah Barker are heading up a new environmental, social and governance group to deliver an integrated service to clients — advising them not only on their regulatory obligations but on how to seize on issues to gain business mileage
In Brief | The Indian Ministry of Corporate Affairs has released the results of its review into the corporate social responsibility framework and made a number of recommendations to improve the current regime

Financial Services Navigation Show below Hide below

Brace for FSRC legislation? The Federal government has released an implementation roadmap with timelines for implementing its response to the Financial Services Royal Commission's recommendations
Study finds that the cost of misconduct and other issues with financial services providers has cost households an estimated combined $A201 billion over the past five years
ASIC's new 'litigate first' enforcement approach is having an impact: ASIC's latest enforcement update reveals that enforcement investigations have increased 20% over the past 12 months
ASIC Commissioner John Price has given a speech in which he outlined how ASIC's seven strategic priorities will address the 'harms' the regulator has identified in the financial services sector
Mandatory Comprehensive Credit Reporting and Hardship Arrangements
APRA has opened a cross-industry consultation for amendments to its margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives
Treasury is seeking feedback on the design and operation of the methodology used in calculating the Financial Institutional Supervisory Levy
ASIC's second public hearing on Responsible Lending: reportedly, concerns remain over ASIC's proposed changes to lending guidance
In Brief | Leadership changes at APRA? The AFR reports that APRA is seeking a new head of policy and advice following the resignation of Pat Brennan, who had responsibility for developing the regulator's policies on banks, insurers and super funds. Mr Brennan reportedly declined to comment on the reasons for his departure. In addition, APRA is also reportedly interviewing for a new executive general manager for 'specialised' institutions, which has been vacant for several months
In Brief | APRA has released a strengthened prudential standard aimed at 'mitigating contagion risk' within banking groups: Prudential Standard APS 222 Associations with Related Entities. The new APS 222 will come into effect from 1 January 2021. In a statement to the market, ANZ said that APRA's announcement could mean that the lender has 'limited capacity to inject capital into ANZ NZ' and in consequence, that ANZ NZ 'may be required to retain a higher proportion of its earnings to meet any potential increased capital requirements'
In Brief | The SMH reports that AUSTRAC has said it is likely to take more action against financial institutions after being 'flooded' with reports of potential AML breaches
In Brief | The end of credit cards? As Buy Now Pay Later becomes more popular, young consumers are increasingly opting out of credit cards and some of the larger banks are making moves to invest in buy-now-pay-later offerings, which could signal that credit cards will cease to exist in future
In Brief | Study funds only 14% of Australian consumers (less than half the APAC average) will consider switching to a digital-only bank in the next two years, but 76% of Australian retail banking customers, and 44% of Australian life insurance customers prefer digital channels. The report suggests that customers' preference for digital channels and growing regulatory support point to digital banks gaining ground in the next few years, including in Australia

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More time for smaller players to respond? The parliamentary audit inquiry submission deadline has been extended to the end of October
In Brief | No incentive for auditors to be critical? Firms appear to be less likely to hire auditors with a history of critical audits according to new US research

Risk management Navigation Show below Hide below

The Future of the Governance Professional? Royal Commission fallout will define the governance professional's role through to 2025 the Governance Institute writes
Your ICT contract is coming up for renewal: now what?
In Brief | Calls for meetings to be recorded? Reportedly, there are calls for local governments to record, and publicly release the recordings, of council meetings (with the minutes) as a record of proceedings following a recent inquiry into an altercation at one council meeting