Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 17 of 2013

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2013L01619 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination

No. 17 of 2013

 

Information provided by banks under certain reporting standards

 

 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Prepared by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)

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

The purpose of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 17 of 2013 (Determination No. 17) made on 12 August 2013 is to enable APRA to disclose certain information provided by banks to APRA under the reporting standards listed in the Appendix. Releasing this information will be of use to regulators, policymakers, industry, researchers, analysts and other interested parties.

Legislative background

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

S 57 of the APRA Act gives APRA power to determine whether a document given under s 13 of the 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 (the consultation undertaken is discussed below).

Information covered by the determination 

Determination No. 17 provides that information given to APRA under the reporting standards listed in the Appendix (made under s 13 of the Collection of Data Act), being information received on or after the date of APRA’s last determination under s 57 in respect of information provided under the reporting standards listed in the Appendix and prior to the date of Determination No. 17, is non-confidential.  Determination No. 17 applies to all banks that have submitted data under the reporting standards listed in Attachment A.

Consultation

In accordance with s 57, APRA issued a consultation letter to all banks on 4 July 2012, as well as providing a link to this consultation letter on its website. The consultation letter provided all affected entities an opportunity to make representations on the proposed determination of confidentiality. This consultation period ended on 31 July 2012.

There were eight responses received from entities during the consultation. Of these, four supported or had no objections to the proposed determination and four raised concerns with the proposed determination.

The support for the proposed determination noted the benefits of increased transparency of information. Also highlighted were the general benefits of more relevant and useful data collections.

The main opposition noted in the consultation submissions concerned the potential ability of a data user to assess a bank’s performance outside Australia and transactions between a bank and its clients.

APRA considers, after taking affected entities’ representations into account, that Determination No. 17 not only helps APRA fulfil its obligations to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but may also benefit regulated entities, other regulators, policymakers, the wider industry, researchers, analysts and other interested parties.

Statement of compatibility prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

A Statement of compatibility prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 is Attachment B to this Explanatory Statement.
Attachment A

 

Determination No. 17 covers the following reporting standards:

 

  • ARS 231.1a International Exposures: Locational (Assets) Part 1
  • ARS 231.1b International Exposures: Locational (Liabilities) Part 1
  • ARS 231.2 International Exposures: Locational Part 2
  • ARS 231.3a International Exposures: Consolidated (Domestic Entity)
  • ARS 231.3b International Exposures: Consolidated (Foreign Entity)


ATTACHMENT B

Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights

Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination

No. 17 of 2013

 

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instrument listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.

Overview of the Legislative Instrument

 

The purpose of making this legislative instrument is to enable APRA to release the BIS International Exposures report, which will contain data in respect of June 2013.

 

Human rights implications

 

APRA has assessed Determination No.17 against the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 (HRPS Act) and determined that only Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) is conceivably of relevance to Determination No. 17.

Article 17 of the ICCPR prohibits the arbitrary or unlawful interference with a person’s privacy, family, home and correspondence, and attacks on reputation. Article 17 is exclusively concerned with prohibiting interference with the privacy and/or reputation of individual persons. It does not extend to the privacy and/or reputation of corporate entities.

Determination No. 17 will facilitate the disclosure of specific information provided to APRA by banks in accordance with certain reporting standards.  It does not involve the disclosure of information directly relating to individual persons. Further, APRA reviews all releases of data received under reporting standards to ensure that no information pertaining to an individual person can be deduced from the data.

Consequently, Determination No. 17 does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the HRPS Act.

 

Conclusion

 

This Legislative Instrument is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.

 

Overview

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 17 of 2013 was enacted to facilitate the disclosure of specific information provided by banks to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) under certain reporting standards. The primary purpose of this determination is to allow APRA to release information that is beneficial to regulators, policymakers, industry, researchers, analysts, and other interested parties. This determination addresses the need for increased transparency and the availability of more relevant and useful data collections. The enactment of this determination is under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act), specifically section 57, which empowers APRA to determine the confidentiality of information provided under reporting standards. APRA consulted with relevant entities before making this determination, taking into account their representations, and concluded that the disclosure of the specified information would serve the interests of the broader financial sector and international organisations such as the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Scope and Application

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 17 of 2013 pertains to the disclosure of certain information provided by banks under specific reporting standards to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). This determination, which is based on subsection 56(5C) of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998, enables APRA to release non-confidential information to regulators, policymakers, industry, researchers, analysts, and other interested parties. It applies to all banks that have submitted data under the reporting standards outlined in the determination, specifically focusing on international exposures data collected under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001. APRA consulted with relevant entities before making this determination, taking into account their representations, and concluded that the release of this information would not infringe on any human rights or freedoms as it does not involve information directly relating to individual persons. The determination thus facilitates the disclosure of specific information provided by banks to APRA in a manner that ensures compliance with human rights standards.

Key Provisions

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 17 of 2013 (Determination No. 17) primarily aims to allow the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to disclose specific information provided by banks under certain reporting standards (s 56(5C) of the APRA Act). This disclosure is intended to assist regulators, policymakers, industry, researchers, analysts, and other interested parties with relevant and useful data. Determination No. 17 applies to all banks that have submitted data under the reporting standards listed in Attachment A, which include standards such as International Exposures: Locational (Assets) Part 1, International Exposures: Locational (Liabilities) Part 1, International Exposures: Locational Part 2, International Exposures: Consolidated (Domestic Entity), and International Exposures: Consolidated (Foreign Entity). APRA's obligations under this determination include giving relevant entities, or their representative associations, a reasonable opportunity to make representations about whether the information in question is confidential, and considering these representations before making a determination. APRA carried out such a consultation period, which ended on 31 July 2012, and took into account the representations made by affected entities in making Determination No. 17. APRA concluded that the disclosure of the information, while subject to some concerns, would not only help APRA meet its obligations to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but may also benefit regulated entities, other regulators, policymakers, the wider industry, researchers, analysts, and other interested parties. The determination imposes penalties for breaches, though these are not explicitly stated in the document. Under the APRA Act, unauthorised disclosure of confidential information is considered an offence, which could result in significant civil or criminal penalties. The severity of these penalties would depend on the nature and extent of the breach, but they could include substantial fines and potential imprisonment. The determination itself does not specify the maximum penalties but indicates that the APRA Act provides for stringent measures against unauthorised disclosures. APRA has ensured that the determination is compatible with human rights as it does not involve the disclosure of information directly relating to individual persons. APRA reviews all data releases to ensure that no information pertaining to an individual person can be deduced from the data. Consequently, Determination No. 17 does not engage any of the applicable rights or freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011. The Statement of Compatibility confirms that this legislative instrument does not raise any human rights issues.

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Privacy Law
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Consultation Requirements
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