Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 8 of 2007

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2007L01820 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination    No. 8 of 2007

 

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. 8 of 2007 (the ‘Determination’), made on 12 June 2007 is APRA’s thirty sixth 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 May 2007.

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 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. 8 of 2007 was introduced to address the need for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to publish specific banking data without breaching confidentiality provisions. Enacted under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998, this determination allows APRA to disclose certain information provided by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) in the Monthly Banking Statistics publication. This was achieved by determining that certain data under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005) does not contain confidential information, facilitating the public dissemination of banking statistics while ensuring sensitive information remains protected. The policy objective is to balance the public interest in financial transparency with the protection of confidential banking information.

Scope and Application

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 8 of 2007 applies to information provided by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005), as specified under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001. This determination allows the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to publish non-confidential data from May 2007 in its Monthly Banking Statistics. The legislation, enacted under the APRA Act, specifies that information provided under this reporting standard is to be considered non-confidential unless it pertains to sensitive details such as shareholder’s equity, total income tax liability, or total provisions, which remain exempt. APRA consulted with relevant banks and their representative bodies before determining the scope of non-confidential information, and the majority agreed on the disclosure of the specified items, although some objections were noted. This determination extends across the Commonwealth and affects financial institutions operating within Australia, ensuring transparency and public interest in banking data.

Key Provisions

The main operative sections of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 8 of 2007 (the 'Determination') are sections 56(5C) and 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 ('APRA Act'). Section 56(5C) specifies that it is not an offence under section 56(2) of the APRA Act to disclose information in a reporting document given to APRA under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001, if APRA determines that the document does not contain confidential information. Section 57 of the APRA Act grants APRA the authority to determine whether a document given under the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act contains confidential information, after providing relevant entities or bodies, or their representative association, with a reasonable opportunity to make representations. The Determination itself provides that certain information given to APRA under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005) is non-confidential, and applies to information from both foreign Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) and locally-incorporated banks. The Determination imposes specific obligations on APRA and the entities it governs. APRA must ensure that relevant entities and their representative bodies are given a reasonable opportunity to make representations before determining whether information is confidential. Additionally, APRA must take into account any representations made by the entities. The entities governed by the Determination, namely foreign ADIs and locally-incorporated banks, are required to provide certain information to APRA under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 (2005). The Determination specifies that the information provided must be non-confidential, excluding sensitive information such as shareholder's equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions. There are no direct offences or penalties specified in the Determination itself. However, under section 56(2) of the APRA Act, any unauthorised disclosure of confidential information could constitute an offence. The penalties for such offences would depend on the specific circumstances and could include fines or imprisonment. It is important to note that the Determination is designed to facilitate the publication of non-confidential information, thus preventing potential legal issues arising from the disclosure of such information.

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