Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 10 of 2008

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2008L03192 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No.10 of 2008

 

Information provided by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005)

 

 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Issued by the authority of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act), section 57

 

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No.10 of 2008 (the Determination), made on 20 August 2008 is APRA’s fiftieth determination in relation to information provided under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005) Statement of Financial Position (Domestic Books) (ARS 320.0) (and its predecessor reporting standards) under section 57 of the APRA Act.[1] The purpose of the Determination is to enable APRA to publish an edition of Monthly Banking Statistics, which will contain data in respect of July 2008.

Legislative background

Subsection 56(5C) of the APRA Act provides that it is not an offence against section 56(2) of that Act to disclose information in a reporting document given to APRA under section 13 of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 where APRA has determined, under section 57, that the document does not contain confidential information.

Section 57 of the APRA Act gives APRA power to determine whether a document given under section 13 of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act contains confidential information. The section provides that before doing so APRA must give relevant entities or bodies, or their representative association, a reasonable opportunity to make representations as to whether information of the kind contained in the document is confidential, and take such representations into account (consultation undertaken is discussed below.)

Information covered by the determination

The Determination provides that certain information given to APRA under ARS 320.0 (made under section 13 of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act by Financial Sector (Collection of Data) determination No. 37 of 2005[2]), being information received on or after the date of APRA’s last determination under section 57 and before the date of this one, is non-confidential. It applies to information given to APRA by foreign Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) (generally banks) and locally-incorporated banks.

The Determination excludes information of a sensitive nature, including information relating to shareholder’s equity, total income tax liability and total provisions. The latter two items were excluded as a result of consultations with industry under section 57 of the APRA Act (see below).

Items that will be disclosed (and which are covered by the Determination) are set out in the Appendix to this Explanatory Statement.

 

Consultation

 

APRA commenced consultations in relation to whether information of the kind covered by the Determination should be treated as non-confidential by writing to locally-incorporated banks, foreign ADIs, and their respective representative bodies, on 24 December 2003. Most agreed that information of the kind covered by the Determination could be treated as non-confidential. A small minority objected to the publication of any information from ARS 320.0, but in APRA’s view there is a strong public interest in the publication of the information, and it is noted that similar information was regularly published under the former section 51 of the Banking Act 1959.

 

 


Appendix

 

Items to be published in the Monthly Banking Statistics publication 

 

Table 1: Selected Assets on Australian Books of Individual Banks 

 Cash and liquid assets

 Trading securities

 Investment securities

 Acceptances of customers

 Gross loans and advances

 Other investments

 Total resident assets

 Outstanding principal balance of securitised assets

 Value of housing loans securitised

 

Table 2: Loans and Advances on Australian Books of Individual Banks 

 Loans to non-financial corporations

 Loans to financial corporations

 Loans to general government

 Housing loans - owner-occupied

 Housing loans - investment

 Household credit cards

 Other household loans

 Loans to community service organisations and non-profit institutions

 Total gross loans and advances

 Intra-group loans and advances

 

Table 3: Selected Liabilities on Australian Books of Individual Banks 

 Due to clearing houses and financial institutions

 Acceptances

 Total deposits

 Intra-group deposits

 Bonds, notes and long-term borrowings

 Other borrowings

 

Table 4: Deposits on Australian Books of Individual Banks 

 Deposits from non-financial corporations

 Deposits from financial corporations

 Deposits from general government

 Deposits from households

 Deposits from community service organisations and non-profit institutions

 Other deposit accounts

 Certificates of deposit

 Total deposits

 

 

 

[1]  Prior to January 2006, determinations under section 57 of the APRA Act were entitled ‘Non-confidentiality determination No. X of 200X’.

[2]  Legislative Instrument - F2005L01683: see http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/LegislativeInstrument1.nsf/asmade/bytitle/0F204D94AC5C5E1FCA2570280080F2F0?OpenDocument.

Overview

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 10 of 2008, issued under the authority of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) pursuant to section 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998, addresses the issue of confidentiality of information provided by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions under the Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005). This Determination aims to enable APRA to publish data for July 2008 in its Monthly Banking Statistics edition, by deeming certain specified information as non-confidential. The legislation excludes sensitive information, such as shareholder’s equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions, following consultations with industry. APRA's objective is to balance the public interest in the publication of financial data with the need to protect sensitive information, facilitating transparency and informed decision-making in the financial sector.

Scope and Application

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 10 of 2008 pertains to the non-confidential nature of certain information provided under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005) by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). This Determination, made under section 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998, aims to facilitate the publication of an edition of Monthly Banking Statistics by APRA, containing data from July 2008. The Determination applies to information provided by both foreign ADIs and locally-incorporated banks, subject to the exclusion of sensitive information such as details relating to shareholders' equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions. This exclusion was reached after consultations with industry stakeholders as mandated by section 57 of the APRA Act. The Determination thus allows for the disclosure of specified financial data, while safeguarding sensitive information that could compromise the operations or competitive position of the reporting entities.

Key Provisions

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has issued the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (Confidentiality) Determination No. 10 of 2008 (the Determination) under section 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act). This determination allows APRA to publish specific financial data from locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) in the Monthly Banking Statistics publication. The data to be disclosed includes various assets and liabilities, as outlined in the Appendix to the Explanatory Statement, such as cash and liquid assets, loans, and deposits. However, it excludes sensitive information such as shareholder's equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions. The Determination imposes a clear obligation on locally-incorporated banks and foreign ADIs to provide APRA with the specified financial information under the Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005). These entities must ensure that the information provided meets the criteria outlined in the Determination and is not of a confidential nature as defined. APRA has the responsibility to review the information and determine whether it can be disclosed without breaching confidentiality requirements. Additionally, APRA must give relevant entities or their representative associations a reasonable opportunity to make representations regarding the confidentiality of the information before making its determination. Breaching the obligations set out in the Determination can lead to civil and criminal consequences. While the Determination itself does not explicitly state penalties, breaches of confidentiality requirements under the APRA Act, as outlined in section 56, can result in significant penalties. Under the APRA Act, individuals and entities found guilty of disclosing confidential information may face fines of up to $22,000 for individuals and $110,000 for bodies corporate, depending on the severity and frequency of the breach. Furthermore, the publication of non-confidential information that was not permitted under the Determination could lead to legal action and reputational damage for the disclosing entity.

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