An ASIC officer discusses issues in a speech to the Account Aggregation Conference, Sydney, 18 April 2001.
Introduction
My presentation today was originally titled 'Navigating the account aggregation legal minefield', but once I started preparing this paper, the title no longer seemed quite right. This is because, in looking at account aggregation issues over the last couple of months, we have found that there are not many specific regulatory requirements governing these services—at least when we are talking about consumer protection.
This afternoon I will give you an overview of the results of our survey of account aggregation websites, and I'll discuss some of the consumer issues that were raised by this survey and other information that we have received. I will note the relevant regulatory issues as we go along, however, I guess it is fair to say that my presentation today will probably raise more questions than it answers.
This probably reflects the fact that we have not finalised our thinking on these issues. We have identified some areas that we think need attention, but we are still developing our views through further consultation and research. Also, the timing of this conference has meant the results of the website survey are yet to be officially presented to the Commission.
I should also emphasise that I am speaking to you as an officer of ASIC. I will be talking from an officer's perspective on areas of concern, and not the Commission's perspective.