The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), to set out cooperation arrangements in respect of Australian benchmarks.
In June, Australia’s legal and supervisory framework, applicable to the administrators of certain financial benchmarks, was recognised as equivalent to corresponding requirements under the EU Benchmarks Regulation, allowing EU-supervised entities to use benchmarks declared significant by ASIC.
Under the MoU, appropriate cooperation arrangements have been set out to complement the EU’s equivalence decision and ensure effective information exchange and supervisory coordination. Both regulators agreed to provide each other with the fullest cooperation permissible under their laws and regulations in relation to all relevant information and supervisory activities regarding the covered benchmarks, as well as to confidentiality requirements for any information shared, requests made, and contents of the requests made, under the MoU.
“Enhancing and improving regulatory cooperation with our international counterparts is a priority for ASIC,” said James Shipton, ASIC chair. “We are very pleased to announce this agreement and look forward to our cooperation with ESMA in the future. When we provide mutual assistance to each other and exchange views and information, this helps ASIC to achieve its vision for a fair, strong, and efficient financial system for all Australians.”
“The use of financial benchmarks in global capital markets is important for market participants and their accuracy and reliability needs to be ensured at all times,” said Steven Maijoor, ESMA chair. “In order to help regulators achieving these objectives, I am pleased that the ESMA-ASIC memorandum of understanding will support European regulators and ASIC to work together on a sound legal basis.”
