• Stumbling block to embracing ESG? Study funds Fortune 100 boards generally lack ESG expertise, including climate expertise

• Strengthening investment stewardship in Australia – the case for issuing one, unified stewardship code that applies to all institutional investors and their service providers
• In Brief | Aviva Investors calls on Chairs to step up their ESG focus: Stakeholder business models, diversity, climate risk, executive remuneration and board capability/accountability are the key themes of Aviva investors' annual letter

• Top Story | Executive remuneration, cybersecurity and climate risk among APRA's top priorities for the year ahead
• APRA's policy and supervision priorities 2021 – sector specific focus areas
• ASIC governance review – changes announced
• IOSCO outlines nine 'sound practices' to assist members in better protecting retail investors and assist them in enhancing complaints handling

• Top Story | Inquiry into CDR supports future of Australia's digital economy
• Top Story | Two years on: Tracking progress against each of the Hayne Commission's 76 recommendations
• Payment systems review: The ABA's submission to the inquiry suggests consideration should be given to designing/implementing regulation based on function and services provided, rather than basing regulation on entity type
• APRA has released its annual superannuation bulletin for 2019/20 financial year
• In Brief | NAB has announced an agreement to acquire neobank 86 400 in a plan to 'accelerate UBank growth'
• In Brief | ASIC has warned investors about a rise in imposter bond investment offers cautioning them to be wary of offers that seem ‘too good to be true’ and outlining the steps they can take before making a decision to invest to minimise the risk of being scammed
• In Brief | Choice of fund changes: The ATO has issued a statement reminding employers that changes to the law mean new workplace determinations and enterprise agreements made on or after 1 January 2021 must offer employees the right to choose the super fund to which compulsory super contributions are paid
• In Brief | As part of a broader review of the big four banks and other financial institutions, super funds Future Super, Verve Super and Diversa Trustees will appear before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics public hearing on 3 February.  Committee Chair Mr Tim Wilson said that the hearings will focus on the funds' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and their respective 'approaches to investing for the future prosperity of fund members'

ESG

• Climate risk: New report details the rapidly escalating financial costs of increasingly frequent extreme weather events fuelled by climate change
• In Brief | Scandinavian banks continue to finance fossil fuel projects: Report finds that since the signing of the Paris Agreement, ten Scandinavian banks have provided US$ 67.3 billion in credit, including lending and underwriting, to companies and projects in the coal, oil and gas sector

Cybersecurity, Privacy and Technology

• Concerning trend: OAIC report finds the number of human error data breaches is on the rise

• Reducing red-tape for externally administered companies: ASIC consults on proposals to extend relief

• 'Simply a call for good corporate ethics': Federal opposition calls for an inquiry into JobKeeper scheme
• In Brief | 'It was always a temporary program': Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has given an interview confirming that the government is not contemplating an extension of the JobKeeper scheme beyond March (but has not ruled out the possibility of providing 'targeted assistance' to specific industries)