Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 14 of 2008

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2008L04744 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No.14 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.14 of 2008 (the Determination), made on 18 December 2008 is APRA’s fifty fourth 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 November 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.14 of 2008 was enacted to provide guidance on the confidentiality of information given to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) under the Reporting Standard ARS 320.0. This Determination, made under section 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act), aims to enable APRA to publish relevant banking data in its Monthly Banking Statistics. The Determination identifies specific information provided by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions that APRA can disclose without breaching confidentiality provisions, while excluding sensitive information such as shareholder’s equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions. The objective is to balance the need for transparency with the protection of commercially sensitive information, following consultations with industry stakeholders.

Scope and Application

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 14 of 2008 applies to information provided by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions under the Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005). This Determination, made under section 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998, aims to allow the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to publish an edition of Monthly Banking Statistics containing data for November 2008. The information in question must be furnished to APRA under section 13 of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 and relates to data collected from reporting dates after APRA's last confidentiality determination and before the date of this one. The Determination exempts certain sensitive information from disclosure, such as shareholder's equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions, following consultations with industry. The scope of the Determination is limited to the specific data items outlined in the appendix, which include various assets, loans, liabilities, and deposits of individual banks.

Key Provisions

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No.14 of 2008, or the Determination, primarily enables the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to publish an edition of Monthly Banking Statistics containing data from November 2008, specifically relating to locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005). The determination (section 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act)) allows APRA to publish data that does not contain confidential information, provided it has given relevant entities or bodies a reasonable opportunity to make representations. The Determination specifies that certain financial data, such as selected assets, loans, and deposits, are non-confidential and can be published (section 57(5C) of the APRA Act). However, sensitive information such as shareholder's equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions are excluded. The obligations under the Determination require APRA to consult with locally-incorporated banks, foreign ADIs, and their respective representative bodies before making a determination about the confidentiality of information. APRA must consider the representations made by these parties and take them into account when deciding whether to treat certain information as non-confidential. This process ensures that the determination is made in a manner that is fair and considers the views of all relevant stakeholders. Additionally, the Determination mandates that APRA publish the specified financial data in the Monthly Banking Statistics, provided it has determined that the information is non-confidential. Breaches of the Determination could result in civil or criminal penalties, depending on the nature and severity of the breach. Under section 56 of the APRA Act, disclosing confidential information without APRA’s permission can lead to significant penalties. For corporations, the maximum penalty can be up to $1.3 million or three times the benefit obtained from the breach, whichever is greater. For individuals, the maximum penalty can be up to $260,000 or imprisonment for up to five years, or both. These penalties reflect the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive financial information and ensuring that APRA’s regulations are respected and adhered to.

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