RBA says ASX clearing facilities still fall short in key areas despite progress

Australia’s central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), expressed concern on Wednesday regarding the performance of ASX’s clearing and settlement (CS) facilities. Despite recent advancements, the exchange operator’s facilities continue to fall short of the RBA’s expectations in several critical areas, including governance, comprehensive risk management, credit risk, and operational risk.

The RBA’s 2026 assessment of the ASX CS facilities revealed that one or more facilities only partially met requirements related to governance, risk management, credit risk, and operational risk. In response, ASX has established a Transformation Portfolio to address these deficiencies in governance, capability, culture, and risk management. The central bank has also set clear expectations for the target outcomes in these areas.

According to RBA Assistant Governor (Financial System) Brad Jones, ASX is experiencing a period of substantial organizational change to rectify long-standing issues. The assessment underscores the fact that, despite progress during the year, ASX has yet to meet the RBA’s expectations in several significant areas.

The exchange has faced increased regulatory scrutiny since discontinuing its blockchain-based CHESS replacement project in 2022. Subsequently, regulators have demanded improvements in governance, technology resilience, and risk controls in light of a series of operational disruptions. ASX acknowledged the release of the RBA’s assessment.