The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has made it clear that there does not need to be a breach of the law for it to use its new product intervention power.ASIC has issued a consultation paper (CP 313) setting out its approach to using the new power, saying it sees the power as "broad and flexible".ASIC deputy chair Karen Chester says: "The product intervention power is an incredibly important addition to ASIC's regulatory toolkit. ASIC can now step in and respond to significant consumer detriment in a targeted and timely way."The power allows ASIC to make individual and market-wide product intervention orders where there is a risk of significant consumer detriment. It can take a range of temporary actions including stop orders, banning a product or product feature, imposing sale restrictions and amending product information.The power covers financial and credit products.The new law was a response to a Financial System Inquiry funding that there were limits to ASIC's regulatory powers: it could only take action to rectify consumer detriment after a breach or suspected breach of the law had occurred; and its enforcement to address detriment had to be on a firm-by-firm basis.  One check on ASIC's new power is that orders only apply for 18 months. Extensions can be made with the approval of the Minister. Another check is that ASIC must consult before intervening.ASIC says the product intervention power will work in tandem with new design and distribution obligations. Financial services companies are now required to identify the target market for their product and will need to design the product for that market. They have to select appropriate distribution channels and periodically review those arrangements to ensure they continue to be appropriate.A "target market determination" must describe the class of retail clients that comprise the target market for the product, specify any conditions or restrictions on sale, specify events and circumstances that would suggest that the determination is no longer appropriate, and specify review periods.Distributors of financial products are required to take reasonable steps to ensure that products are distributed in accordance with the identified target markets. They will have to keep specified information for monitoring purposes.The product intervention power and the design and distribution obligations are set out in Treasury Laws Amendment (Design and Distribution Obligations and Product Intervention Powers) Act 2019, which was passed in April.In the consultation paper, ASIC uses the examples of its intervention in the term deposit market in 2009. It was unhappy that TD issuers were using a tiered rate structure, advertising its higher "special rates" to attract new business and then rolling accounts over for new terms at lower rates.It made some recommendations, including changes to advertising and disclosure. It says the industry largely adopted the recommendations.It says: "If there had been a product intervention power in 2009, we may have considered using it in these circumstances. There does not need to be a breach of the law for ASIC to exercise the product intervention power."It says it would have probably