The FinancialAccording to the report released on the 16th of December by the Australian financial regulator (ASIC), the number of applications for a financial service provider (AFS) license has declined between 2018 and 2019.
From July 2018 to June 2019, a total of 1,504 applications were submitted. For comparison, in the previous period, the regulator received 1,819 applications, which indicates a decrease in 17.3%
ASIC revoked 342 AFS licenses
During the aforementioned period, the regulator revoked 343 licenses and suspended 11 AFS licenses.
For 12 months, the regulator approved 327 new applications for AFS licenses and changed 495 AFS licenses, while 467 of them led to the implementation of additional regulatory requirements by the companies.
The data released on Monday is part of ASIC’s efforts to increase transparency. The statement also says that this data will serve as a guide for potential applicants.
Mr. Warren Day, Executive Director, Assessment & Intelligence commented on the report, “ASIC’s Licensing function serves an important gatekeeping role for ASIC, ensuring applicants seeking an Australian financial services (AFS) license, credit license or auditor-related professional registration meet minimum standards to offer regulated services. We help protect consumers by ensuring an appropriate level of scrutiny is applied to these applications”.
“We are keen to foster a better understanding of the nature of ASIC’s decision-making, what we consider when receiving an application and what is likely to increase the time required to consider an application”, Mr. Day added.