Breaking News: Broker banned for failing to lodge compliance certificates

ASIC has banned finance broker Alexander Dryden of West Croydon, South Australia, from engaging in credit activities and suspended his Australian credit licence for six months.

ASIC surveillance found Dryden, who had been trading as 'Gryphon Financial' had contravened the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009 (Cth) (National Credit Act), by:

• failing to lodge an annual compliance certificate within 45 days after the licensing anniversary of his Australian credit licence and
• threatening to lodge a caveat to induce a consumer to pay an amount to him for his credit assistance.

Commissioner Greg Tanzer says that ASIC regularly checks the veracity of information lodged as part of the requirement to lodge annual compliance certificates.

"Licensees who think that we do not check the information they lodge with us, or that we do not ensure they lodge their ACC, are wrong. This activity is a regular and ongoing focus for ASIC," he says.

ASIC identified this conduct as part of its annual compliance certificate verification program during which a sample of compliance certificates lodged by licensees with ASIC were reviewed.

Dryden was one of the sample of licensees to have compliance certificates checked as part of the 2013 verification program.