Australian regulator says on-site at major financial firms since October

(Reuters) – Australia’s investment regulator said on Wednesday its staff have been on-site at the offices of Australia’s major banks and wealth manager AMP Ltd since October last year to monitor firms after a probe into the sector.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) said its staff have been conducting on-site reviews for 164 out of 222 working days since October 2018.

The country granted ASIC powers to place supervisors inside firms last year after a broad inquiry into the sector exposed systemic wrongdoing by some of the Australia’s top financial institutions.

(Reporting By Rushil Dutta in Bengaluru; Editing by Sam Holmes)