Article list

Don’t be blown off your feet by the new whistleblower protections

New whistleblower protections expand who is protected and what they can disclose. This regime applies to regulated companies and financial service providers including banks, life companies, general insurers and superannuation funds. More people are now protected whistleblowers The new regime came into force on 1 July 2019 and creates the concept of an ‘eligible whistleblower’. […]

09 Sep 2019

When can financial advisers recommend a switch to an in-house product?

From The Fold Legal

There is a conflict any time a financial adviser recommends an in-house product, but the conflict can be managed. ASIC has determined that conflicts with in-house products do exist In its Report 562, ASIC looked at the big five financial service institutions – CBA, Westpac, ANZ, NAB and AMP – and found that 68% of their […]

23 Aug 2019

Deal trends: Warranties and indemnities in the sale of financial advice portfolios

From The Fold Legal

The sale of financial advice portfolios is on the rise and both buyers and sellers are finding new ways to allocate risk. In this post, we put the current deal trends under the microscope. Following the Royal Commission, and as we move towards the deadlines for new FASEA requirements to be implemented, it’s become a […]

14 Aug 2019

Lenders may need to vary their licence to sell at POS

From The Fold Legal

Financiers who distribute through retailers may need to vary their licence in preparation for the end of the point-of-sale (POS) exemption. The exemption was flagged to go by the Royal Commission. The credit representative model is the most obvious one to replace it. This will place financiers in a similar position to those who distribute insurance […]

26 Jul 2019

Five reasons ASIC will reject your licence application

From The Fold Legal

ASIC rejects 30% of AFS licence applications and 24% of credit licence applications. In this article, we explain why it rejects applications and give you tips on how to avoid becoming a statistic. In 2017/2018, ASIC approved just 40% of all Australian financial services licence (AFSL) applications and 49% of credit licence applications. Many licence […]

05 Jul 2019

How lenders and brokers should assess credit card costs now

From The Fold Legal

New responsible lending rules have changed the way brokers and lenders should now calculate credit card costs in all lending applications . In the first part of this series, we explained what the new responsible lending rules for credit cards are. These new rules also affect how you should calculate credit card costs in all other loan […]

07 Jun 2019

Can’t get mandatory PI cover? Here’s what to do

From The Fold Legal

Some financial services and credit licence applications are being delayed because licensees simply cannot buy professional indemnity (PI) insurance. We outline what to do if this is happening to you. The Royal Commission has made it more difficult for licensees to get PI insurance The insurance market has hardened following the Royal Commission. This is […]

29 May 2019

New credit card rules affect all lenders and brokers

From The Fold Legal

This is the first post in a two part series on the new responsible lending rules for credit cards. Tighter new rules mean that credit card providers must assess credit card applications more strictly. While not mandatory, other lenders and brokers should apply the same rules to their loan applications. What has changed? In the […]

22 May 2019

TPB ups the ante on privacy consent

From The Fold Legal

Registered tax (financial) advisers have a higher obligation than other financial planners when disclosing information about their clients to third parties. This is because the Tax Practitioners Board’s (TPB) Code of Professional Conduct has more stringent requirements than the Privacy Act. How the TPB and the Privacy Act differ There are three key differences between […]

17 May 2019

Four emerging trends in insurtech

From The Fold Legal

You might think that Australia is behind the rest of the world when it comes to insurtech – but it’s not. After seeing what’s on offer in both Europe and Australia recently, I identified four key insurtech trends. 1. Data is improving insurance products Many incumbent insurers have legacy systems that hold important data. An […]

30 Apr 2019