Are Westpacâs Chinese walls too flimsy for a solid defence?
The bankâs defence of the regulatorâs blockbuster insider trading case will likely succeed or fail on the strength of its internal information barriers.
May 11, 2021 â 4.27pm
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It is said you can see the Great Wall of China from space, such is its scale and solidity. But could you say anything similar about Westpacâs Chinese wall?
Itâs one question that will be bouncing around the heads of Westpacâs top legal eagles as the bank ponders whether to defend the corporate watchdogâs allegations that it engaged in insider conduct.
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Westpac taken to court over insider trading By Malavika Santhebennur 07 May 2021
ASIC has begun proceedings against the major bank for insider trading and breaches of its licensee obligations during the privatisation of Ausgrid.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has commenced civil proceedings in the Federal Court against Westpac for insider trading, unconscionable conduct, and breaches of its Australian financial services licensee (AFSL) obligations.
The allegations are related to Westpac’s role in executing a $12-billion interest rate swap transaction with a consortium of AustralianSuper and a group of IFM entities.
The transaction occurred on 20 October 2016, and was related to the $16 billion privatisation of a majority stake in electricity provider Ausgrid by the NSW governmen
Who knew what (and when) at Westpac? By Lachlan Maddock 05 May 2021
A potentially bloody legal stoush looms as ASIC looks to prove that Westpac had the inside run on the $12 billion interest rate swap that’s landed it in hot water.
Just a week ago, Westpac chief executive Peter King hailed a new era of success for the bank, which had finally put the messy AUSTRAC matter behind it after paying out more than a billion dollars in penalties. Now the bank stands accused of potentially illegal tactics in relation to the largest single-tranche interest rate swap in Australian history.
Allegations shine a light on debt markets
The insider trading scandal facing Westpac couldnât come at a worse time. But it looms as a complex test of how the complex, hidden world of debt markets and derivatives operates.Â
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When Westpac chief executive Peter King announced his grand cost-cutting plan on Monday, he made it clear that a key motivation was to end the bankâs run of ugly surprises from the past.
The royal commission remediation, the AUSTRAC scandal that led to the departures of CEO Brian Hartzer and chairman Lindsay Maxsted, the ongoing risk culture scolding from the prudential regulator â it was time for the rot to stop.
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