Key facts
- Australia's central bank stated that ASX's clearing and settlement facilities still fail to meet expectations in several important areas.
- Areas of concern include governance, comprehensive risk management, credit risk, and operational risk.
- The RBA noted progress by ASX during the year but stated that expectations are still not being met.
- ASX has faced heightened regulatory scrutiny since abandoning its blockchain-based CHESS replacement project in 2022.
- Regulators have demanded improvements in governance, technology resilience, and risk controls following operational disruptions.
Australia's central bank said on Wednesday that the country's stock exchange operator, ASX, still falls short in key areas of its clearing and settlement facilities, despite making progress. The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) stated in its 2026 assessment that one or more facilities "partly observed" requirements related to governance, comprehensive risk management, credit risk, and operational risk.
ASX has been under increased regulatory scrutiny since it abandoned its blockchain-based CHESS replacement project in 2022. This has led to demands for improvements in governance, technology resilience, and risk controls following a series of operational disruptions. The RBA noted that ASX established a Transformation Portfolio during the year to address deficiencies in governance, capability, culture, and risk management, and that the central bank had set clear expectations for target outcomes in these areas.
"ASX is undergoing a period of substantial organisational change in response to several long-running issues," said RBA Assistant Governor (Financial System) Brad Jones. "This assessment highlights that, despite progress during the year, ASX is still not meeting the RBA’s expectations in several important areas."
ASX acknowledged the release of the RBA's assessment.