Australia's corporate and securities regulator has sued the operator of the Australian share market, ASX Ltd (ASX: ASX)
The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has started proceeding against the ASX over alleged misleading statements about its Clearing House Electronic Subregister System (CHESS) replacement project.
That's quite a mouthful, but the premise of ASIC's allegations is that ASX misled the market with certain statements on the project.
Let's take a look.
Why is ASIC suing the ASX?
Zooming out for some context, CHESS is Australia's traditional clearinghouse, meaning it settles trades conducted on the ASX every day. It is critical to the integrity of our stock market.
ASX designed a project to swap CHESS over to a system that uses blockchain technology, the same network that Bitcoin runs on.
The project was eventually deserted.
But ASIC alleges that the ASX made deceptive statements in February 2022 by claiming that the project was "on-track for go-live" in April 2023 despite serious delays.
The ASX claimed that the CHESS replacement project was progressing well. However, ASIC asserts that the project was not on track.
According to ASIC, these claims have shaken trust in Australia's financial markets. The regulator is now seeking penalties and "an adverse publicity order and costs against ASX".
ASIC Chair Joe Longo blasted the ASX, calling it a "collective failure" by the ASX Board and executives.
He pointed out that the ASX's actions have wide-reaching effects, harming companies, investors, and the broader market.
We allege that the true state of affairs as at 10 February 2022 was that the project was not "progressing well", contrary to ASX's announcement.
The delay and subsequent pause of the project in November 2022 caused significant cost to ASX and market participants who relied on assurances as to the progress of the project and scheduled go-live date.
The fallout and broader implications
The CHESS replacement project aimed to modernise the ASX's core trading system using blockchain technology.
However, the project faced numerous setbacks. In November 2022, the ASX paused the project, leading to a $250 million write-down. This delay reportedly set the critical upgrade back by at least five years.
In a statement to the market on Wednesday, ASX CEO Helen Lofthouse said the company is reviewing ASIC's allegations carefully.
We recognise the significance and serious nature of these proceedings. We cooperated fully with ASIC's investigation and are now carefully reviewing and considering the allegations.
We play a critical role at the centre of Australia's financial markets, and continue to focus on supporting and delivering for customers.
We are committed to taking ASX forward, and have made strong progress as an organisation over the past two years.
This lawsuit comes just days before the ASX releases its full-year results, which are set for this Friday. There's no doubt in my mind that this topic, along with others on tech upgrades, will dominate discussions.
Foolish takeaway
ASIC's lawsuit against the ASX is a clear reminder of the need for transparency and integrity in financial markets. The CHESS project also remains paused for now, mothballed until the required technology upgrades are met.
There's no saying at this time what the outcome may be, or if there are any financial repercussions. The ASX share price is up 7% in the past 12 months.
