Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 23 of 2011

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2011L02752 Not in force Legislative Instrument

Legislation content

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No.23 of 2011

 

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.23 of 2011 (the Determination), made on 15 December 2011 is APRA’s ninety 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 2011.

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.23 of 2011 was enacted by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) under section 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998. The primary purpose of this determination is to facilitate APRA's ability to publish an edition of Monthly Banking Statistics containing data from November 2011. This determination was necessitated to address the need for transparency in banking statistics while safeguarding sensitive information. APRA undertook consultations with relevant entities and their representative bodies, as mandated by the APRA Act, to ascertain whether the specified information could be deemed non-confidential. The majority of the consulted parties supported the disclosure of the information, reinforcing APRA's decision to publish these statistics for public interest. The determination specifies which information, collected under ARS 320.0 of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act, will be treated as non-confidential, excluding particularly sensitive items such as shareholder’s equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions.

Scope and Application

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No.23 of 2011 pertains to the confidentiality of information provided by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) under the Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005). This Determination is made under section 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act) and is designed to facilitate the publication of certain non-confidential financial data by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) in its Monthly Banking Statistics. Specifically, the Determination applies to information submitted to APRA by both foreign ADIs and locally-incorporated banks, which is received on or after the date of APRA’s last confidentiality determination and before the date of this one. This includes financial data that was previously considered confidential but has now been deemed suitable for public disclosure. However, the Determination excludes information of a sensitive nature, such as details relating to shareholders' equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions. This exclusion is based on consultations with industry stakeholders and the overarching objective of balancing public interest with the need to protect sensitive financial information.

Key Provisions

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 23 of 2011 primarily concerns the disclosure of certain financial information provided by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005) Statement of Financial Position (Domestic Books) (ARS 320.0). This Determination (section 57 of the APRA Act) specifies that particular data reported to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is deemed non-confidential and can be published in the Monthly Banking Statistics. This includes details such as selected assets, loans and advances, and liabilities on Australian books of individual banks (Appendix). The Act imposes specific obligations on the parties governed by it. Under the APRA Act, section 57, APRA has the authority to determine the confidentiality of information provided under ARS 320.0. Before making such a determination, APRA must consult with relevant entities or their representative associations, providing them with an opportunity to make representations regarding the confidentiality of the information. This consultation process is integral to ensuring that the determination reflects the views of those directly affected by the publication of such financial data. In terms of legal consequences, the Determination ensures that the disclosure of information deemed non-confidential does not constitute an offence under section 56(2) of the APRA Act. This means that financial institutions providing the specified data to APRA are not breaking any laws by doing so. However, the Determination does exclude sensitive information such as shareholders’ equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions from being disclosed, highlighting the balance APRA aims to strike between transparency and confidentiality. Failure to adhere to the provisions of the Determination could result in legal scrutiny or challenges regarding the classification and disclosure of financial data.

Legal classification tags

Area of Law
Financial Regulation
Instrument
Determination
Concepts
Definitions & Interpretation
Reporting & Disclosure Obligations
Consultation Requirements

Interactions

Authorises

All Versions

Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation at 26 August 2026. For the latest information on Australian Government law please go to https://www.legislation.gov.au.