• On track to meet 50% target for female workers by 2025?  The Australian reports that BHP has said it's on track to meet its workforce gender equality quota

• In Brief | Woolworths will combine its liquor and hospitality businesses before divesting them in the next financial year. The AFR reports that views on the change are diverse.  The Alliance for gambling reform, which has pushed for Woolworths to exit the pubs/gambling business has welcomed the announcement and called for other businesses to follow suit

• Commitment to increased transparency and accountability: TelstraSuper has signed on to the Australian Asset owner Stewardship Code

• Time to act on dual-class share structures? ISS research has found (among other things) that dual class companies appear more likely than other companies to face governance challenges

• United States | SEC will hold a roundtable on short term/long term management of public companies, periodic reporting and regulatory requirements on 18 July
•  In Brief | SEC to offer companies facing enforcement action the option of a 'package deal'? Recognizing that a segregated process for considering contemporaneous settlement offers and waiver requests may not produce the best outcome for investors in all circumstances, I believe it is appropriate to make it clear that a settling entity can request that the Commission consider an offer of settlement that simultaneously addresses both the underlying enforcement action and any related collateral disqualifications…The Commission is, of course, under no obligation to accept any settlement offer and may determine not to accept a simultaneous offer of settlement and waiver request on the basis of form alone' SEC writes
• In Brief | Treasurer Josh Frydenberg announced that Stephen Ridgeway has been appointed as a Commissioner of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for a term of five years from June 2019.  Mr Ridgeway replaces Roger Featherston, who stepped down this month after five years at the ACCC

• RIAA's annual responsible investment report has found the responsible investment market continues to grow in Australia 

• Top Story | Targeting short term lenders: ASIC is consulting on the first proposed use of its new product intervention power
• Top Story | Licensing relief proposed for foreign fund providers 
• Top Story | Roadblocks and Roundabouts: A Review of car insurance claim investigations
• Nimble to exit payday lending?  Nimble has reportedly said it aspires to be a branchless digital bank 
• APRA has loosened lending restrictions: APRA has finalised amendments to guidance on residential mortgage lending
• APRA will require the major banks to lift Total Capital by three percentage points of RWA (rather than the proposed four to five percentage points) by 1 January 2024
• ASIC has not caused a credit squeeze says ASIC Commissioner Sean Hughes
• ASIC has imposed additional requirements on AFSL applicants 
• Bill to scrap default insurance for young people and low balance accounts introduced: Treasury Laws Amendment (Putting Members' Interests First) Bill 2019
• Enhanced FinTech sandbox Bill introduced: Treasury Laws Amendment (2018 Measures No 2) Bill 2019
• Open Banking | Delay likely? The Australian reports that the Federal Labor party is unlikely to support the requisite CDR legislation (when introduced) unless additional privacy protections are included
• Blockchain pilot launched to digitise bank guarantees for retail property leases
• New Zealand | The Reserve Bank of New Zealand should have acted earlier? A report commissioned last year by the RBNZ in its role as the prudential regulator has recommended regulatory oversight of insurers be strengthened 
• In Brief | According to media reports, Deutsche Bank's global restructuring plan will see the bank cut 18,000 jobs (including 50 in Australia) by 2022 and shift its focus to serving European companies and retail-banking customers.  The AFR suggests that other banks are likely to follow suit
• In Brief | MicKinsey's Asia Pacific Banking Review suggests 'consolidation is looming on the horizon' for less efficient banks, as lenders look to unlock the potential of scale to boost productivity and pursue strategic growth
• In Brief | The UK Financial Conduct Authority has proposed banning the sale, marketing and distribution to all retail consumers of all derivatives (ie contract for difference - CFDs, options and futures) and ETNs that reference unregulated transferable cryptoassets by firms acting in, or from, the UK on the basis that the products are ill suited to retail consumers who cannot reliably assess their value and risks.  The FCA estimates the potential benefit to retail consumers from banning these products to be in a range from £75 million to £234.3 million a year

• United Kingdom | Sanctions against Deloitte and Helen George in relation to the audit of Serco Geografix Limited

Modern Slavery 

• Top Story | New insights into Modern Slavery legislation in Australia
• Modern Slavery Reporting for Universities

Technology, cybersecurity and privacy

• Directors' views on disruptive technology: EY research released
• United Kingdom | The ICO intends to fine British Airways a record £183.39m for infringements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) 
• The National audit office has found that Australia Post has not effectively managed cyber risk and has recommended that it conduct risk assessments for all its critical assets and take immediate action to address any identified 'extreme risks' to those assets, supporting networks and databases 

Other Developments

• New FATF guidance on assessing terrorist financing risk released 
• A new way to approach 'flexible' work arrangements? Digital marketing company Versa reportedly credits introducing a four day working week twelve months ago with tripling profitability

• Combatting illegal phoenixing Bill reintroduced