The chairman of ASX, operator of Australia’s stock and futures exchange, has hit back over what he described as “underserved public vilification” over a barrage of criticism that has called into question the group’s role as a market supervisor.

Maurice Newman, chairman, said much of the criticism was “mischievous, misinformed, and/or just plain wrong”, adding the attacks had damaged the ASX’s reputation and potentially the international standing of Australia’s capital markets.