ASIC has released an updated version of Regulatory Guide 69 Debentures and unsecured notes–improving disclosure for retail investors (RG 69).

The updated version of RG 69 sets out:

• adjustments to the eight benchmarks that issuers should disclose against on an ‘if not, why not?’ basis from 1 September 2010, including those relating to minimum amounts of equity capital; adequate liquidity; and disclosure about loan portfolios and valuations
• the plain-English explanations that issuers should provide in prospectuses from 1 September 2010 about the importance of their benchmark disclosures
• information on naming restrictions that will apply to debentures and unsecured notes under s283BH of the Corporations Act 2001 from 1 July 2011.

From 1 July 2011, ASIC will no longer permit some products to be called debentures. It will discontinue its interim no action position announced in 2005 in relation to non-compliance with the naming restrictions in s283BH limiting the types of financial products that can be called debentures. This will mean products not secured over tangible property (i.e. property with an actual physical existence) will need to be called unsecured notes or unsecured deposit notes.