Full Disclaimer - Market Commentary

Information prepared and distributed by Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL 234945 and its subsidiaries including Commonwealth Australia Securities LLC and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Europe) N.V. (collectively, “CBA”) (“Communication”) is private and confidential and may not be copied, reproduced or disseminated without the prior express written consent of CBA. 

No Offer: This Communications does not constitute and should not be construed as being an offer to transact, recommendation, solicitation, invitation for subscription or sale or product or strategy advice. 

Not Research. This Communication is from a Sales or Trading desk of CBA and does not constitute research. Any views or commentary expressed in this Communication are the views of the author(s) only, which may or may not be different to views expressed or held by other individuals on the same Sales or Trading desk and other teams or departments (including the Research department) of CBA. This Communication is not research and should not be construed as such and is provided solely for information and discussion purposes with wholesale investors.  Any references to CBA research in this Communication should be considered in conjunction with the relevant CBA research report.

In the event that this Sales or Trading Communication is deemed an Investment Recommendation as defined under the Market Abuse Regulations in the United Kingdom (“UK”) and/or the European Union (“EU”), the requirements of CDR 2016/958 (and as onshored in the UK as a result of the Brexit Withdrawal Act) will be provided as part of the Communication.

No Reliance: Communications must not be relied upon, in whole or in part, as the basis for any decision, contract, policy, view or commitment. Information, numbers, graphs and charts are provided for illustrative and discussion purposes only, and CBA does not warrant or make any representations as to the accuracy, completeness or future occurrence of any information or opinions provided, some of which are based on assumptions and may be sourced from third parties. Nothing in a Communication should be construed as being investment, tax, legal, accounting, regulatory or other advice or as creating a fiduciary, agency, reliance or other similar relationship. To the maximum extent permitted by law, CBA disclaims any liability in connection with the use of or reliance on any Communication in any manner. Communications do not bind CBA in any way and CBA is under no obligation to update information in any Communication on an ongoing basis. 

All financial products involve an element of risk. Unless you are familiar with a specific financial product or strategy, including the potential impact of pertinent risks, the financial products and or strategies mentioned in any Communication may not be suitable for you. Communications do not purport to contain all relevant information for you to make an investment, financial or other decision. You are solely responsible for deciding whether any investment, strategy or transaction is suitable for you at all times. You should seek legal, financial, tax, investment or other advice as appropriate.

Conflicts of interest. CBA may have existing interests or positions in the securities, products or assets referred to in this Communication.  CBA may also enter into future transactions (for itself or others) involving the same securities, products or assets which may not be in line with the information or views (if any) expressed in this Communication. From time to time, the interests and positions of CBA and or those of CBA’s other customers may conflict with your interests and positions. CBA maintains policies and procedures to identify and manage, mitigate or avoid conflicts.

In Australia: CBA is authorised and regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The information contained in any Communication is made available solely for persons who are wholesale clients pursuant to the Corporations Act 2001. 

In the UK: Communications are made available in the UK only for persons who are Eligible Counterparties or Professional Clients, and not Retail Clients as defined by Financial Conduct Authority rules. CBA is registered in England (No. BR250). CBA is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 139185) and limited regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Details about the extent of CBA’s regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority are available on request. 

In Europe: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (Europe) N.V. (registered in the Dutch Chamber of Commerce under number 72946520 and registered with the Dutch Central Bank (De Nederlandsche Bank) under number R161193) is a public limited liability company incorporated and existing in the Netherlands, having its corporate seat in Amsterdam. It is authorised by the European Central Bank (“ECB”) and supervised and regulated by the Dutch Central Bank and the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (Autoriteit Financiële Markten). Communications are made available only for persons who are Eligible Counterparties or Professional Clients and not Retail Clients as defined by Directive 2014/65/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 on Markets in Financial Instruments (“MiFID II”) as implemented in the Dutch Financial Supervision Act (Wft).

In Singapore: CBA Singapore Branch is established in Singapore as a branch of the Australian incorporated legal entity and operates as a Wholesale Bank with a Banking Licence under the Banking Act 1970, issued by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The information in this Communication is made available only for persons who are Accredited Investors, Expert Investors and Institutional Investors, as defined under Section 4A of the Securities and Futures Act 2001. It has not been prepared for, and must not be distributed to or replicated in any form, to anyone who is not an Accredited Investor, Expert Investor or Institutional Investor. If you are an Accredited Investor or Expert Investor as defined in Regulation 2(1) of the Financial Advisers Regulations ("FAR"), CBA is obliged to disclose to you that in the provision of any financial advisory services to you, it is exempt under Regulations 33, 34 and 35 of the FAR from complying with the business conduct provisions of sections 34 (Obligation to disclose product information to clients), 36 (Recommendations by licensed financial advisers) and 45 (Licensed financial adviser to disclose certain interests in specified products) respectively, of the Financial Advisers Act 2001. If you wish to discuss any matters arising from, or in connection with, this Communication, you should do so with or through a representative of the CBA Singapore Branch.

In Japan: Any securities related business can be conducted with Financial Instruments Business Operators which engage in Securities-Related Business as defined under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA) in Japan.   No other Communication should be allowed to be made with potential/existing customers in Japan except for cases otherwise stipulated in FIEA.  Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Tokyo Branch is a licensed banking business authorized by Japan Financial Services Agency. The Tokyo Branch does not have a securities business licence in Japan.

In Hong Kong: CBA Hong Kong Branch is a branch of the Australian incorporated legal entity with limited liability. The information in this Communication is made available only for professional investors as defined under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap, 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong). You are advised to exercise caution in relation to the offer. You are advised to exercise caution and obtain independent professional advice in relation to the information in this communication. The provision of this Communication to any person in Hong Kong does not constitute an offer of securities to that person or an invitation to that person to acquire, apply, or subscribe, for the issue of, or purchase, securities unless the recipient is a person to whom an offer of securities may be made in Hong Kong without the need for a prospectus under section 2 and the Seventeenth Schedule of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32 of the Laws of Hong Kong) (“Companies Ordinance”) pursuant to the exemptions for offers in respect of which the minimum consideration payable by any person is not less than HK$500,000 or its equivalent in another currency. Neither this Communication nor any part of it is, and under no circumstances are they to be construed as, a prospectus (as defined in the Companies Ordinance) or an advertisement of securities in Hong Kong. The products have not been, nor will they be, qualified for sale to the public under applicable Hong Kong securities laws except on a basis that is exempt from the prospectus requirements of those securities laws

In China: Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Shanghai Branch is a registered bank in China. The information contained in any Communication is made available in China only for wholesale investors as defined in the Financial License and Business License. CBA, Shanghai and Beijing Branch are not registered to engage in securities and/or derivative products and nothing in this Communication shall constitute a recommendation of, offer to sell or marketing of any securities and/or derivative products in China.

In New Zealand: Commonwealth Bank of Australia, New Zealand Branch is a registered bank in New Zealand. The information contained in any Communication is made available in New Zealand only for persons who are wholesale investors as defined in the Financial Markets Conduct Regulations 2014. 

In the USA: CBA is authorized to maintain a Federal branch by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. 

Communications are made available for informational purposes only and any products described are not available to retail investors. When a Communication describes deposits, NONE OF THE PRODUCTS DESCRIBED ARE DEPOSITS THAT ARE COVERED BY FDIC INSURANCE. 

In the United States, securities products and services are provided solely by or through Commonwealth Australia Securities LLC, a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission and a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (CRD# 136321).

CBA is also a swap dealer provisionally registered with the CFTC and is a member of the NFA in such capacity (NFA ID 0249150). Swaps as well as products and strategies involving swaps are not suitable for investment by (i) counterparties that are not “eligible contract participants” as defined in the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA) and the regulations adopted thereunder or (ii) entities that have any investors who are not “eligible contract participants.”  Each hedge fund or other investment vehicle that purchases the products must be operated by a registered commodity pool operator as defined under the CEA and the regulations adopted thereunder or a person who has qualified as being exempt from such registration requirement.

The information contained herein is not intended to be an exhaustive discussion of the strategies or concepts mentioned herein or tax or legal advice. Investments and strategies are discussed in this Communication only in general terms and not with respect to any particular security or securities transaction, and any specific investments may entail significant risks including exchange rate risk, interest rate risk, credit risk and prepayment risk among others. There also may be risks relating to lack of liquidity, volatility of returns and lack of certain valuation and pricing information. International investing entails risks that may be presented by economic uncertainties of foreign countries as well as the risk of currency fluctuations. Investors interested in the strategies or concepts described in this Communication should consult their tax, legal or other adviser, as appropriate. This Communication is not intended to provide information on specific securities.