ASX vows reform after placing 'investors over markets'
By Derek Rose
The operator of Australia’s stock exchange is promising further reform after copping more criticism from an independent probe commissioned by the corporate watchdog.
The final report of the three-member panel, led by Commonwealth Bank director Rob Whitfield, attacked ASX Ltd’s “insular and defensive culture”, saying it had underinvested in critical market infrastructure in favour of higher shareholder returns.
The report was commissioned by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission in July 2025, after a number of technical glitches at the bourse, including a full-day outage on November 16, 2020, and a settlement failure on December 20, 2024.
The panel’s interim report, delivered in December, was so damning that it led ASIC to force the ASX to hold another $150 million in reserve.