A NSW adviser has lost his case against the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which is trying to ban him from the industry.

Lionsgate Financial Group adviser Rommel Panganiban applied to the Federal Court to restrain ASIC from making any possible banning orders against him.

The case stems from Mr Panganiban’s time as an adviser at AMP Financial Planning.

Between February 2011 and July 2014 he advised 50 clients to cancel their AMP Flexible Lifetime Super insurance policies and replace them with AMP Flexible Super insurance policies. 

ASIC argued this was not in the best interests of the clients and the actions were driven by commissions.

Mr Panganiban’s case was subject to an ASIC hearing in March this year and no decision has been made yet about issuing a banning order against him.

Mr Panganiban had requested ASIC provide him with copies of the 50 client files, but it refused saying they were protected by privacy issues. The adviser said this action denied him a fair hearing and took the regulator to court.

In his judgement, Mr Justice Bromwich said ASIC had not denied Mr Panganiban natural justice by failing to provide client files to him, and it is for ASIC to determine the matters and material on which it proposes to rely in making a banning decision.

If ASIC was to ban him, the adviser had the opportunity to appeal to the Administration Appeals Tribunal.

Mr Panganiban was also ordered to pay ASIC’s costs.

An ASIC delegate will now consider material prepared as part of the regulator’s surveillance into Mr Panganiban’s conduct to determine whether a ban from financial services is warranted.