Regulatory authority: ASX has damaged market resilience by focusing on shareholder returns.

The Australian securities regulator said that the country's stock exchange operator has compromised the resilience of key market infrastructure by focusing on shareholder returns. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission said on Thursday that ASX had failed to adequately focus on infrastructure. The regulator added that ASX lacked the ambition to be a manager of such infrastructure. ASIC said in a statement, "The resilience of key market infrastructure has been compromised in pursuit of high shareholder returns." A specialized group commissioned by ASIC made this judgment in its final report on ASX's repeated errors and failures, with members including a former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia. ASX operates an exchange where its own stocks also trade. A mid-term report from the specialized group has already pointed out that ASX's investment in the resilience and security of its infrastructure is insufficient by 2025.