Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 12 of 2008

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2008L04058 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No.12 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.12 of 2008 (the Determination), made on 17 October 2008 is APRA’s fifty second 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 September 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. 12 of 2008, issued under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act), was enacted to address the need for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to publish certain financial data from locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) in its Monthly Banking Statistics publication. The determination, made on 17 October 2008, enables APRA to disclose specific non-confidential financial information provided under the Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005) to the public, thereby enhancing transparency and facilitating informed decision-making in the financial sector. The policy objective is to balance the need for confidentiality with the public interest in accessible financial data, ensuring that sensitive information remains protected while promoting greater transparency in the banking sector.

Scope and Application

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No.12 of 2008 pertains to the confidentiality of information submitted to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) under the Reporting Standard ARS 320.0. The Determination applies to data that these entities provide to APRA, specifically excluding sensitive information such as shareholder's equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions. This legislative instrument aims to facilitate the publication of monthly banking statistics by APRA, with the information disclosed being of a non-confidential nature, as determined through consultation with relevant stakeholders. The Determination encompasses data collected from these financial institutions from the date of APRA's last confidentiality determination up to the date of this one, promoting transparency and informed decision-making within the financial sector. The scope of the determination is further refined in subordinate instruments detailing the specific data items that will be disclosed, ensuring that the balance between confidentiality and public interest is maintained.

Key Provisions

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No.12 of 2008, made under section 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act), aims to facilitate the publication of an edition of Monthly Banking Statistics containing data for September 2008. It specifically addresses information provided by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) under the Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005) Statement of Financial Position (Domestic Books) (ARS 320.0) (paragraph 1). The Determination identifies certain non-confidential information that can be published, excluding sensitive items such as shareholder's equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions (paragraph 3). The Determination imposes obligations on APRA to consult with relevant entities or bodies before determining that certain information is non-confidential. This consultation process is mandated by subsection 56(5C) of the APRA Act and requires APRA to give a reasonable opportunity for representations to be made and to take them into account (paragraph 4). The information covered by the Determination includes various financial details such as assets, loans, and deposits, which are specified in the Appendix to the Explanatory Statement (paragraph 6). There are no direct offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences outlined in the Determination itself, as its primary function is to establish the non-confidential nature of certain financial data. However, any breach of the APRA Act or the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 could lead to legal repercussions, although these are not detailed within the scope of this particular Determination (paragraphs 1 and 3). The overall purpose is to balance the public interest in financial transparency with the need to protect sensitive financial information.

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