Australia financial regulator ASIC has announced that it has extended the suspension of the Australian financial services (AFS) licence held by BBY Ltd until June 30, 2021.

BBY’s license was first suspended after it entered bankruptcy administration in 2015, after a large failed client trade in shares of Aquila Resources. At the time, BBY was one of the largest independent retail brokers serving clients in both Australia and New Zealand. When it went bust BBY was run by Executive Chairman Glenn Rosewall, son of Aussie tennis great Ken Rosewall, who also sat on the BBY board.

The terms of the suspension allow the BBY AFS licence to continue in effect for the following purposes only:

• to ensure that clients of BBY continue to have access to an external dispute resolution scheme;
• to ensure that clients of BBY continue to have access to the National Guarantee Fund;
• to ensure that the receivers and liquidators have the legal authority to transfer a client’s “holder identification number” to another market participant with instructions from the client or to convert a licensee sponsored holding to an issuer sponsored holding in accordance with the ASX Settlement Operating Rules; and
• to ensure BBY continues to be required to have arrangements for compensating retail clients for loss or damages suffered as a result of breaches of the Corporations Act by the companies or their representatives.

Background

On 28 May 2015, ASIC suspended the AFS licence held by BBY for a period of three years.

This followed the appointment of Stephen Vaughan and Ian Hall as joint administrators to BBY on 17 May 2015. Steven Parbery and Brett Lord were appointed receivers and managers of BBY on 18 May 2015. From 29 October 2019 Rahul Goyal and Scott Langdon of KordaMentha are the appointed receivers and managers of BBY.

On 27 May 2018, ASIC decided to extend the suspension for a further 12 months until 28 May 2019.

On 27 May 2019, ASIC decided to extend the suspension until 31 May 2020.

Under the Corporations Act, ASIC has the power to suspend or cancel an AFS licence, without holding a hearing, where the AFS licence is held by a body corporate which is placed under external administration.

BBY has a right to seek a review of ASIC’s decision at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.