NAB makes regulatory commitment

National Australia Bank (NAB) will submit a number of reports to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) as part of its efforts to repair the damage caused by the foreign exchange options scandal that enveloped the company earlier this year.

The reports will allow ASIC, a government body charged with enforcing and regulating company services laws, to check NAB is satisfying the obligations of its Australian financial services licence (AFSL).

ASIC said in an announcement today that it had received an “enforceable undertaking” from NAB, committing the bank to steps including providing the regulator with a series of externally audited reports on issues such as how NAB identifies and records breaches of ASIC rules, and the way it selects “responsible officers” to monitor the enforcement of these regulations.

The bank will also give ASIC copies of reports it submits to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

NAB’s commitment to ASIC follows promises from the bank’s senior management to comply with the findings of investigations into the trading fiasco by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and APRA.

“We are now working hard to implement initiatives in the PWC report and the requirements of both APRA and ASIC,” said John Stewart, NAB’s chief executive.