Like most Western governments, the Australian Government has adopted a free market approach to the financial services industry, relying on the market to resolve which financial products and services are produced and consumed, and at what price. However, a consumer protection regime exists in...

Financial services regulation is becoming increasingly globalised in response to the global nature of the industry. Firms, including hedge funds, are highly mobile. Each regulator must take into account global regulatory standards – if local regulation is below or above the international...

Financial services regulation is becoming increasingly globalised in response to the global nature of the industry. Firms, including hedge funds, are highly mobile. Each regulator must take into account global regulatory standards – if local regulation is below or above the international...

This article will show mobile banking and payments are evolutionary, not revolutionary. They allow conventional intermediated payments to be used in more situations by more people. Admittedly they appear revolutionary in the sense that they open up the provision of banking services by non-banks....

This article discusses how financial services can support economic development and poverty reduction. Access to financial services is a fundamental tool for improving living standards by enabling the poor to better manage their finances and increase their income-generating abilities. This...

While today's financial markets are globally interconnected, they are regulated at a national level. This article discusses the international financial system and its recent difficulties, current international regulatory measures, how a global regulator might be established and some of the...

The High Court has upheld the International Air Transport Association's claims about the effect of its clearing house system in relation to the insolvency of Ansett Australia.This article examines this significant decision in the field of payment systems, multilateral netting and set-off. The...

The European Commission continues to pursue legislation and other measures to encourage a pan-European ‘Single Payment Area' as part of the wider internal market project. This article examines some recent reviews of the existing legislation on payment services, takes a detailed look at...

Payments have been described as the 'oil in the wheels of the Internal Market'. As part of the wider internal market project, the European Commission has over a number of years pursued legislation and other measures to encourage a pan-European 'Single Payment Area'. This article introduces the...