BFCSA Blog

'Investing in a proven failure': whistleblower Jeff Morris sceptical of ASIC changes Updated 20 Apr 2016, 1:12pm http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-20/'investing-in-a-proven-failure':-whistleblower/7342124 Eleanor Hall Source: The World Today | Duration: 6min 9sec Someone who's long had concerns about ASIC's power and effectiveness is Jeff Morris. He's the whistle-blower who tipped ASIC off to wrongdoing and cover-up within the Commonwealth Bank's financial planning arm. But it took ASIC more than a year to act on his information. ELEANOR HALL: Well, we have one of those whistleblowers with us here in the studio, someone who's long had concerns about ASIC's (Australian Securities and Investments Commission) power and effectiveness: Jeff Morris. He's the whistleblower who tipped ASIC off to wrongdoing and cover-up within the Commonwealth Bank's financial planning arm. But it did take more than a year for ASIC to act on his information. And Jeff Morris, thanks so much for joining us. JEFF MORRIS: Thank you. ELEANOR...

Dr David Pascoe BVSc PhD OVH Repro November 3 at 2:32pm · Edited · THE BROTHERHOOD OF BIG GAS  EXPLOSIVE TIP-OFF FROM INSIDE THE TURNBULL CAMP IGNITES A BUSHFIRE It was the kind of message from Canberra we really weren’t expecting – a bombshell straight from inside the Prime Ministers very own camp. It seems that Senator James McGrath – Turnbull’s own numbers man for his recent leadership coup and the campaign strategist who delivered power to Campbell Newman in the 2012 state election - has now been hurriedly dispatched to Queensland as a forward scout with two missions: first, to find out how Turnbull has been received by Queensland – and the second, much more deadly strategy: to completely wipe out Alan Jones. McGrath is a political strategist, head kicker and toe-cutter of the highest order: he previously worked with Lynton Crosby, whose company Crosby Textor runs campaigns for both APPEA and the...

REVISITING THE AUSTRALIAN CODE OF BANKING PRACTICE: IS SELF-REGULATION STILL RELEVANT FOR IMPROVING CONSUMER PROTECTION STANDARDS? NICOLA J HOWELL   Page 35..   In 2012, Andrew Wilkie MP presented a private member’s bill to the Commonwealth Parliament: the Banking Amendment (Banking Code of Conduct) Bill 2012 (Cth).  The Bill provided for a mandatory Banking Code of Conduct (based on the then current Banking Code) to be made by the relevant Minister, and to be enforced by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority, which would have the power to impose civil penalties for ‘particularly grievous breaches of the code .   In explaining the impetus for the Bill, Mr Wilkie argued that: ‘[t]here is clear evidence that the current voluntary Code of Banking Practice – set up by the banks, run by the banks, overseen by the banks – does not work and is a toothless tiger’.  Mr Wilkie also indicated that he...

Ditto Australia.....   Revealed: how developers exploit flawed planning system to minimise affordable housing The release of a ‘viability assessment’ for one of London’s most high-profile developments – seen exclusively by the Guardian – sheds new light on how developers are taking advantage of planning laws to ramp up their returns 25 June 2015 http://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/jun/25/london-developers-viability-planning-affordable-social-housing-regeneration-oliver-wainwright   Golden towers emerge from a canopy of trees on a hoarding in Elephant and Castle, snaking around a nine-hectare strip of south London where soon will rise “a vibrant, established neighbourhood, where everybody loves to belong”. It is a bold claim, given that there was an established neighbourhood here before, called the Heygate Estate – home to 3,000 people in a group of 1970s concrete slab blocks that have since been crushed to hardcore and spread in mounds across the site, from which a few remaining trees still poke. Everybody might love to belong in Australian developer Lend...

Back to where it started............. IOOF's boiler room throws customers to the wolves 20 June 2015 Adele Ferguson and Sarah Danckert   http://www.theage.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/ioofs-boiler-room-throws-customers-to-the-wolves-20150619-ghrdl6.html   As Christmas parties spilled onto the side streets of Sydney's CBD, two men from listed financial services group IOOF were not in the mood to party. One of the men, a senior equities analyst, was about to become a company whistleblower, a move that would expose another financial scandal and cost him his job It was Friday December 12, 2014 and the other man, the company's head of investigations Rob Urwin, wanted to discuss a few matters before heading home The conversation turned to some questionable behaviour inside the company, most notably its research division and some of the antics of its head of advice research Peter Hilton, so Urwin suggested the discussion continue over a beer.   As they settled in at the Shirt Bar, discreetly...

Greece debt crisis: Desperation sets in as talks grind on By Chris Morris BBC News, Brussels 12 May 2015  http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-eu-32710724  So Greece has successfully completed its latest €750m (£538m) debt repayment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), but even that news has a twist in the tail. Greek officials say most of the money was taken from a buffer account held at the IMF itself - an account that is only meant to be used in cases of emergency. In such circumstances it is hardly surprising that Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis used his visit to Brussels on Monday to re-state the obvious - the liquidity situation is "terribly urgent", he said, and a deal to release further funds was needed in the next couple of weeks. A word of caution. If every warning from either Athens or Brussels that Greece was about to run out of money had proven to...

FOS repeatedly have stated "The FSP is not liable for the conduct of the Broker!  Even though FOS agree that a  payment of commissions has been made to the Broker, and the Brokers assistance with the submission of LAF - but they agree with the FSP, that the Broker is now classified as a "MORTGAGE ORIGINATOR", and that any other factors, as stated above, are irrelevant and insufficient to show that the Broker was acting as the FSP's agent.  Total disregard for the many Court Decisions and precedents already validated. Further, FOS, agreed with our complaint to St George Bank, that the loan in excess of $400,000 should never have been approved, had the FSP acted responsibly when it advanced the loan.  We quote "FOS found the FSP did not comply with good industry practice when it approved the loan.  If it had done so, it would have realised that the information about the Applicants income, upon...

CEC just called - 6000+ was early yesterday morning so the count will rise for they were still flooding in - Malcolm Fraser wrote one I believe pushing for Glass Steagall!    from Gladys.........................   http://www.cecaust.com.au/ 27th August, 2014 Public floods Financial System Inquiry with 6,000+ submissions—not happy, Joe The Australian public has overwhelmed Joe Hockey’s Financial System Inquiry with more than 6,000 second-round submissions, a massive increase on the 280 submissions made in the first round. The sheer volume of submissions sends a clear message: Australians are not happy with the state of the financial system, nor the direction in which the FSI is heading, evidenced by its interim report. Former ANZ Bank director John Dahlsen spoke for many Australians who have monitored the inquiry when he charged in his second-round submission, “The interim report has been prepared by bankers, on behalf of bankers, for bankers.” (Australian Financial Review 18...

http://www.fos.org.au/custom/files/docs/submission_future_of_financial_adive_legislation_senate_fofa_sen_elc_jan_12pdf.pdf  Our Gladys is busy digging into FOS Reports - wonder what happened to those complaints and outcomes and what happened to the Directors?  We know what ASIC do - bleedin nothing and hence why ASIC is subject to 2014 Inquiry.  We should have mandatory Inquiry into ASIC every year until they start understanding corrupt behaviour is not acceptable. page 7  Phoenix Activity   In the course of our dispute resolution work, we see Phoenix activity.  Where this occurs, consumers can be left with unrecoverable losses while the financial advisors responsible for the losses can continue to provide advice.  Over the past two years, we have identified four cases of Phoenix activity that affected about 125 disputes.  There are many forms of Phoenix activity.  One example is outlined below and a case study is also provided:    Example of Phoenix activity   A large number of disputes against one licensee are...

http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/12/22/new-york-shows-asic-the-way-to-pounce-on-gfc-villains/ New York shows ASIC the way to pounce on GFC villains Adam Schwab| Dec 22, 2010   The announcement yesterday that New York Attorney-General Andrew Cuomo is seeking $US150 million in damages from mega accounting firm Ernst & Young over the collapse of Lehman Brothers is indicative of just how irrelevant Australian corporate regulators have become. While US authorities have taken legal action against the likes of Ernst & Young, Goldman Sachs, Ponzi-scheme operators Bernie Madoff, Alan Stamford and Marc Dreier and Countrywide’s Angelo Mozilo — ASIC, Australia’s so-called corporate watchdog, has laid no criminal charges and only a smattering of civil actions against the villains of the GFC.  In the claim against Ernst & Young, Cuomo claimed that: E&Y substantially assisted Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, now bankrupt, to engage in a massive accounting fraud, involving the surreptitious removal of tens of billions of dollars of securities from Lehman’s balance sheet in...

Big company bias has rigged financial advice system, advisor tells Murray inquiry Banking and Finance  Date  April 8, 2014 An AMP-linked adviser has warned the financial advice system is rigged against consumers because big companies have a bias towards pushing their own products.  This bias towards in-house products reduces competition and may result in savers paying over the odds for investment products, Rhys Wood, a director of financial planning at Elite Wealth Solutions, has argued.  In a damaging submission to the Murray Inquiry into Australia's financial system, Mr Wood says that the high costs of regulatory compliance have prompted many planners to obtain a practicing licence through a large institution, which in turn supplies products for advisers to recommend. Queensland-based Elite Wealth Solutions is licensed by listed wealth company AMP.  "The most pressing issue within the advice industry is the existence of bias within the advice process," says Mr Wood in...

Another comment from our petition on change.org   Why? because I'm on the brink of homelessness. I also want to ask THE LEADER OF OUR COUNTRY and the entire Government why have they let this go on for so long and why they have made changes to the ACT to benefit the banks. Why is there special help in bending the rules for financiers in the ASIC government web site for the sake of the shareholders. Why is the Government giving investors nearly $10,000 a year to invest in homes for Low Income Earners to rent. Why aren’t they giving the Low Income earners the $10,000 a year subsidy to live the Australian dream of having a home? Why are they backing the mega wealthy investors and financiers to get richer at the cost of families having a home of their own? The Government has allowed the Low Doc loans to come...

It sickens me the way the New Zealand regulator and the Ombudsman and Serious Fraud Office (whom I met and including the Minister in 2009) are mishandling these serious complaints of LOAN APPLICATION FRAUD engineered by the Bank Engineers, using the same SERVICE CALCULATOR as preferred weapon of choice and have been making obscene profits from criminal activity for more than a decade and a half.   Our regulators have all enjoyed over-bloated pay packets for playing in SNOOZEVILLE and continue this farcical denial campaign to Parliament.  "No systemic issues?"  Remember those words Greg Medcraft.  These victims lives are in tatters and you Sir can expect your brilliant career to become a down hill run from here on in.  You have been the Model of Cover-Up procedures by the Australian Securities and Investment Committee and then Chair to IOSCO to perhaps cover up there also. Australia has permitted it Banks to...

When brokers say they will get you a "loan" and they won't charge you anything, then they are obviously working for the banks as they get a commission. I can't see how the banks can say that the brokers were not working for them or on their behalf. Have I missed something?   ED:  Spot on PT,  but the Prime Minister has hasn't yet worked out who pays commission to the brokers.  He is a smart man, so he obviously has not been briefed by Treasurer Joe Hockey, on the Banks ignoring the fact they have a very important responsibility to ensure ID Verification under the Anti Money Laundering and Counter Terrorism Financial Act 2001.  Banks ask Brokers to sign a Statutory Declaration to Verify the Borrower and collect personal financial details and ID documentation.  Banks must comply with those legal requirements.  All Brokers must sign the STAT DEC and then...

Medcraft is very clever at delivering misleading information, deceiving Parliament, suggesting there are no systemic issues and then asking FOS to bury the true statistics of 90% EDR decisions re consumer complaints favour banks, and yet FOS released in its annual report that 85% of complaints re Low Docs are resolved by "agreement."   No doubt Medcraft (after chats with Banksters) must have ordered FOS to cut out the RECOMMENDATION process and the Panel of REVIEW process to just have one "take it or leave it" offer/solution.  The complainant is then bullied into accepting a totally unfair "solution" or as FOS say in writing: "you can take the matter to court and we will close our file."  Dine and dusted!!!  FOS KNOW the client has no funds for a lawyer that's why they use that free service.  The Financial Ombudsman's Service ("FOS") is licenced and under the thumb of ASIC.  At...

Quite simply, the reason ASIC has under performed, causing wide spread misery for consumers of financial products and services, is due to the FACT that the Australian Consumers and Investment Commission inherited a massive conflict of interest in attempting to serve two masters.  After the Stan Wallis Inquiry, Phil Hanratty's critique pointed out the possibilities of this conflict.  Government at the time decided that would be true if only one departments but ASIC had several departments.....a little backward thinking of course.........but there we are!   The solicitor mortgage scandal cost citizens of this great nation over $1.5 billion recorded in 2000.  Spruikers ensured another $2 billion disappeared from retiree savings, aided by the Banks. Next came the spectacular collapses of the managed investment scams - again by operators licensed by ASIC and sold by those licensed by ASIC.  ASIC simply handed out a few fines.  By 2006, I asked the Chairman:...

FAIRNESS IN LENDING as a revered regulation and policy of Government that could have stopped the greed of Major Banks, had it been properly applied.   Government could have stopped the fraudulent Loan Application Scams that has been taking place inside the Banking Machine of Australia.   TO FOS, COSL, APRA and ASIC - why did you not think of this? To adhere to regulations relating to FAIRNESS in FINANCIAL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES: 1.  It is most unfair to have a banker seconded TO FOS from a Major Lender to adjudicate and view a client file who is a complainant of any of the Lenders..........................and please tell us who dreamed that one up?????? 2.  The statue of limitations is six years from when the awareness is evident, so please cease using that as an excuse to close files and treat consumers of banking products with  contempt. 3.  The statue of limitations is UNLIMITED in cases...

Time to write Merry Christmas letters to Australian Securities and Investment Commission ("ASIC") and send me a copy please.  ASIC lie to Parliament about the number of complaints they receive.  We have the evidence to prove it.   COSL NEEDS TO BE CLOSED IMMEDIATELY:  The EDR is simply a fraud in the way it presents itself. All Consumers who borrow from NON BANK LENDERS and are Members of Credit Ombudsman's Service Limited (it has a P O Box and no street address) are at risk of CRIMINAL ACTIVITY from NON BANK LENDERS. Treasurer Joe Hockey said last year on Channel 7: "I would not be dealing with a non bank lender - ever."  Yes Mr Treasurer, you and I know the non bank sector is riddled with fraud and fraught with RISK....but no-one Joe is really hammering warnings to the public: DO NOT DEAL WITH NON BANKS IN AUSTRALIA. First thing...