Login
ISCOVER
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has pushed back the start date for the registration and licencing of brokers.
Last week, the minister for financial services Chris Bowen said that any broker who engages in certain credit activities will need to register with ASIC between 1 April and 30 June 2010, not 1 November to 31 December 2009 as originally intended.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Mr Bowen’s announcement followed a recommendation by the Senate Economics Committee to give the credit industry more time to make the necessary changes to move to the new regime.
MFAA chief executive Phil Naylor told Mortgage Business the set back gave the industry a little bit more breathing space before the reforms are implemented.
“The government has worked hard to bring in the legislation on time. However, the new reforms are so complex that it has become unfeasible for the government to meet their November deadline. As such, they have pushed it back into next year which is very sensible,” Mr Naylor said.
Earlier this month, the MFAA took a hard line with brokers that had failed to complete their Certificate IV in Financial Services, terminating 1,500 memberships.
MFAA chief executive Phil Naylor said that despite a number of reminders, a minority of brokers had failed to abide by the Board’s requirements to complete what was described as “the basic foundational qualification for mortgage and finance broking.”
The MFAA said it would however reinstate a membership if Certificate IV was attained within the next three months.
“Several hundred members have since attained their certificate IV and reclaimed their membership,” Mr Naylor said.
“When the legislation finally rolls around, the majority of the MFAA members will be up to speed.”
