Australia regulator imposes nearly $100 million additional charge on ASX after inquiry

Dec 15 (Reuters) – Australia's corporate regulator said on Monday it has imposed an additional capital charge of A$150 million ($99.59 million) on the local bourse operator, ASX, in response to an inquiry launched in June. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission launched a sweeping probe into the country's main stock exchange in June after years of tensions over a failed software upgrade and repeated trade-processing glitches. ASIC said the review panel, after about 140 stakeholder interviews, found ASX's focus on short-term profits and shareholder returns had undermined its duty to run vital market infrastructure, among other issues. In addition, the ASIC and the Reserve Bank of Australia will step up their review to uplift their joint supervisory model, the regulator added in a statement. ASX said it would be releasing a market announcement shortly in response to the ASIC statement. ($1 = 1.5063 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese)

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