Review of Competition in Clearing Australian Cash Equities February 2015

The Council of Financial Regulators (CFR) has issued a Consultation Paper as part of its review of competition in clearing Australian cash equities. The review will be carried out with the assistance of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (together, the Agencies).

This follows a 2012 review of competition in the clearing and settlement of Australian cash equities, in which the CFR recommended a two-year moratorium on competition in the clearing of cash equities. The recommendations of the 2012 review were endorsed by the government in February 2013.

The Agencies committed to carrying out a review at the end of the two years. With the two-year period ending in early 2015, this Consultation Paper sets out the scope of the Agencies' review and the issues that will be considered, and seeks stakeholder views on these issues. Following the consultation process, the Agencies will consider stakeholder submissions and will advise the government of the findings of their review in due course.