Federal Court penalises ASX over upgrade statements

• The Federal Court ordered ASX to pay a total of $23.5 million over misleading statements regarding its delayed technology upgrade.
• The penalty includes $3 million to cover the regulatory body's legal costs.
• The financial settlement follows a replacement of the chief executive as the exchange manages rising costs related to its CHESS clearing system.

The Federal Court ordered the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:ASX) to pay $3 million in legal fees after the market operator admitted to making misleading statements about its delayed technology upgrade.

The judicial decision finalises a settlement reached between the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and ASX last month, which concluded the matter immediately before the scheduled trial was due to commence.

The corporate watchdog initiated the action following statements made by the exchange regarding the progress of its replacement platform for the Clearing House Electronic Subregister System, known as CHESS.

ASX previously announced in May that senior European markets executive Anthony Attia would replace Helen Lofthouse as CEO to lead the ongoing technology transition.

The company stated that the latest attempt to upgrade the CHESS infrastructure and its commitment to improving corporate risk culture are creating upward pressure on its internal operating costs.

Following the announcement, the ASX share price was down at $62.50.

The exchange continues to manage the replacement of its decades-old core clearing and settlement software after the original blockchain-based upgrade project was paused and written off.