Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 5 of 2006

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2006L00869 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination    No. 5 of 2006

 

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’), s 57

 

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 5 of 2006 (the ‘Determination’), made on 16 March 2006 is APRA’s twenty first determination in relation to information provided under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005) (and its predecessor reporting standards) under s 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 February 2006.

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 where APRA has determined, under s 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 s 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 Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005) Statement of Financial Position (Domestic Books) (made under s13 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 s 57 and before the date of this one, is non-confidential.  It applies to information given to APRA by foreign 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 s 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 s 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 value of all assets that have been securitised

 Value of housing loans securitised during the month

 

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. 5 of 2006, made under section 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998, aims to enable the publication of certain banking data for the month of February 2006. This determination follows the provisions of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001, which empowers the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to collect data from locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions. APRA’s role is to assess the confidentiality of such information before making it public, as mandated by the APRA Act. The determination specifically addresses the information provided under the Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005) and excludes sensitive information such as shareholder’s equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions, based on consultations with industry stakeholders. The policy objective is to balance the need for transparency with the protection of sensitive financial information.

Scope and Application

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 5 of 2006 applies to information provided to APRA by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) under the reporting standard ARS 320.0 (2005). The Act enables APRA to publish specific financial data, including selected assets, loans and advances, and liabilities, in the Monthly Banking Statistics publication. This data must be provided by the banks on or after the date of APRA’s last determination under s 57 and before the date of this Determination. The legislation, however, explicitly excludes sensitive information such as details relating to shareholder’s equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions from being treated as non-confidential. The Determination reflects the views of most entities consulted, who agreed that the specified financial data could be published without breaching confidentiality obligations.

Key Provisions

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) (Confidentiality) Determination No. 5 of 2006 (the 'Determination') was made under section 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (the 'APRA Act'). This determination aims to enable APRA to publish an edition of Monthly Banking Statistics, which will include data for February 2006. The determination specifies that certain information provided to APRA under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005) is non-confidential and can be published. This information pertains to data received by APRA from both foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) and locally-incorporated banks. Notably, the Determination excludes sensitive information such as details relating to shareholders' equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions. The Determination imposes specific obligations on the parties it governs, namely locally-incorporated banks and foreign ADIs. These entities must provide information to APRA in accordance with Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005). APRA, in turn, must give these entities or their representative associations a reasonable opportunity to make representations about the confidentiality of the information before making a determination under section 57 of the APRA Act. The information that is to be disclosed is detailed in the appendix to the Explanatory Statement and includes various asset, liability, and deposit details. The Determination also sets out the consequences for breaches of its provisions. Section 56(5C) of the APRA Act clarifies that it is not an offence to disclose information in a reporting document if APRA has determined that the document does not contain confidential information. This means that while the Determination allows for the publication of certain non-confidential data, any breach of its stipulations regarding the disclosure of confidential information could lead to legal consequences under the APRA Act. However, the Determination itself does not specify any maximum penalties for such breaches.

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Area of Law
Financial Regulation
Instrument
Determination
Concepts
Reporting & Disclosure Obligations
Consultation Requirements
Regulatory Standards
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Non-confidential Information

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