ASIC halts three Remara private credit products

Australia’s financial regulator has temporarily suspended three private credit products distributed by Melbourne Securities as it steps up scrutiny of the country’s growing private markets sector, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) issued stop orders covering three products offered through the Remara Cash Management Fund, a registered managed investment scheme, citing shortcomings in documentation setting out the products’ intended investors and how they should be distributed.

The orders will remain in force for 21 days unless ASIC revokes them earlier.

The intervention follows regulatory surveillance of private credit funds that are being marketed to retail investors through both direct distribution channels and financial advisers. ASIC said it is also examining areas including fees, lending margins and the management of conflicts of interest.

ASIC Commissioner Simone Constant said the regulator would intervene where it identified concerns that financial products could be reaching retail investors for whom they were not designed.

The action forms part of a broader regulatory focus on private credit in Australia, with ASIC warning the sector earlier this week that further enforcement activity could follow. The regulator has launched multiple investigations and is conducting surveillance of both wholesale and retail private credit funds.

The heightened scrutiny comes after the insolvency of Sydney-based developer Bathla Group exposed concerns around lending practices and risk management in parts of Australia’s private credit market. ASIC has said some industry practices have fallen short of expected standards.

The Remara Cash Management Fund had approximately AUD39.9m ($28.4m) of assets under management at the end of 2025, according to ASIC. The fund invests in short-term notes linked to a portfolio of Australian credit investments, including highly rated and investment-grade securitised residential mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities across public and private markets.