ASIC issues regulatory guide on unlisted, unrated debentures

ASIC has:

• released a new regulatory guide, Regulatory Guide 69 Debentures - improving disclosure for retail investors outlining 8 benchmarks (and reporting on an ‘if not, why not’ basis) to improve disclosure to retail investors in unlisted and unrated debentures; and
• released a consultation paper, Consultation Paper 94 Debenture advertising, which includes a draft regulatory guide on debenture advertising for issuers and publishers of unlisted and unrated debentures.

Regulatory Guide 69 Debentures – Improving disclosure for retail investors (RG 69).

All existing unlisted and unrated debenture issuers will be required to provide enhanced reporting to investors by 1 March 2008.

Any new issuers entering the market from 1 December 2007 will be required to disclose against the 8 benchmarks in RG 69 from that date.

ASIC has issued a Regulatory Impact Statement on RG 69.

Consultation Paper 94 Debenture advertising and draft regulatory guide on debenture advertising (CP 94)

ASIC will consult for one month on the issue of debenture advertising and has released a draft regulatory guide as part of the consultation paper to facilitate this further consultation.

In particular, ASIC is interested in assessing, with industry, the practical issues faced by publishers in screening and detection of advertisements. Comments on the draft regulatory guide are due by 30 November 2007.

ASIC will release a final regulatory guide in December and will expect debenture issuers and publishers to comply with the guide from early January 2008.