The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is aiming to cut down the securities industry’s regulatory burden by consolidating 13 of its 14 market integrity rules into just four, according to a consultation paper the ASIC published on Tuesday.
The various rules, which set out obligations and prohibitions for licensed financial markets, represent more than 1,300 pages of regulation, the ASIC paper states.
In addition to consolidating these rules, the ASIC is also aiming to clarify the existing obligations in several areas, including principal trading, block trading, disclosure requirements and management, among other things.
“Consolidating the market integrity rules continues ASIC’s focus on reducing red tape and will create a single point of reference for market integrity rules that are common between like markets,” says Cathie Armour, an ASIC commissioner, in a statement. “It will also streamline the review and consideration of substantive amendments to the market integrity rules in the future.”