Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 8 of 2012

Administered by Department of the Treasury

Legislation au F2012L01082 Not in force Legislative Instrument

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Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No.8 of 2012

 

Information provided by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0

 

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Prepared by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)

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

 

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No.8 of 2012 (the Determination), made on 24 May 2012 is APRA’s ninety ninth determination under section 57 of the APRA Act in relation to information provided under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0 Statement of Financial Position (Domestic Books) (ARS 320.0), taking into account both current and preceding versions of this reporting standard.[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 April 2012.

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 (FSCOD Act) 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 FSCOD 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 by Financial Sector (Collection of Data) (reporting standard) determination No. 30 of 2008), or another reporting standard in substantially the same form replacing it, being information received on or after the date of APRA’s last determination under section 57 in respect of information provided under ARS 320.0 and before the date of the Determination, is non-confidential. It applies to information given to APRA by foreign Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) 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.

 

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

 

The legislative instrument the subject of this explanatory statement 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. Accordingly, in APRA’s assessment, this legislative instrument is compatible with human rights.

 


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’.

Overview

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No. 8 of 2012, made under the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998, aims to address the issue of confidentiality surrounding certain financial data provided to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). This Determination allows APRA to publish certain non-confidential information in the Monthly Banking Statistics publication, facilitating transparency and public access to financial data while excluding sensitive information. The policy objective is to balance the need for confidentiality with the public interest in financial transparency. This Determination applies to information provided by locally-incorporated banks and foreign authorised deposit-taking institutions under the reporting standard ARS 320.0. APRA consulted with relevant entities and industry bodies before concluding that the specified information could be treated as non-confidential. The Determination excludes sensitive information such as shareholder’s equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions, reflecting the outcome of these consultations.

Scope and Application

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No.8 of 2012, made under section 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998, applies to information provided under Reporting Standard ARS 320.0, specifically to data submitted by locally-incorporated banks and foreign Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). This determination addresses the confidentiality of such information and specifies that certain data will not be treated as confidential, thereby permitting APRA to publish an edition of Monthly Banking Statistics. The Determination excludes sensitive information, including details on shareholder’s equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions, which were determined to be non-confidential through consultations with the relevant industry stakeholders. The geographic and jurisdictional reach of this Determination is national, applying to all entities subject to the requirements of ARS 320.0 within Australia. APRA retains the flexibility to extend or modify the application of this Determination through subordinate instruments as necessary.

Key Provisions

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) made the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (confidentiality) determination No.8 of 2012 (the Determination) under section 57 of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998 (APRA Act) (section 1). The purpose of the Determination is to enable APRA to publish an edition of Monthly Banking Statistics that contains data for April 2012 (section 1). The Determination applies to information given to APRA under the reporting standard ARS 320.0 Statement of Financial Position (Domestic Books) (ARS 320.0) by foreign Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) and locally-incorporated banks (section 1). The Determination specifies that certain information provided to APRA under ARS 320.0, or another reporting standard in substantially the same form replacing it, is non-confidential (section 1). This information is specified in the Appendix to this Explanatory Statement. The Determination excludes information of a sensitive nature, including information relating to shareholder’s equity, total income tax liability, and total provisions (section 1). These exclusions were the result of consultations with industry under section 57 of the APRA Act (section 1). Under the APRA Act, 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 (section 1). APRA commenced consultations in relation to the Determination 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 APRA considers 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 (section 1). The Determination 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 (section 1). Accordingly, in APRA’s assessment, the Determination is compatible with human rights (section 1). There are no offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breach of the Determination. The Determination provides that certain information given to APRA under ARS 320.0 is non-confidential (section 1). It does not create any obligations or requirements for parties or entities it governs, nor does it provide for any offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breach. Instead, it facilitates the publication of certain information in the Monthly Banking Statistics publication by APRA (section 1). The Determination is a tool that APRA uses to determine which information can be published without breaching the confidentiality provisions of the APRA Act (section 1). By determining that certain information is non-confidential, APRA is able to publish that information in the Monthly Banking Statistics publication (section 1). The Determination does not impose any obligations or requirements on parties or entities it governs, nor does it provide for any offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breach (section 1). The Determination is a mechanism for APRA to determine which information can be published without breaching the confidentiality provisions of the APRA Act (section 1). It enables APRA to publish certain information in the Monthly Banking Statistics publication, which is a public document that provides information about the banking sector in Australia (section 1). The Determination specifies which information can be published, and which information must be excluded due to its sensitive nature (section 1). The Determination does not create any obligations or requirements for parties or entities it governs, nor does it provide for any offences, penalties, or civil/criminal consequences for breach (section 1). Instead, it facilitates the publication of certain information in the Monthly Banking Statistics publication by APRA (section 1). The Determination is a tool that APRA uses to ensure that the information it publishes is not confidential and does not breach the confidentiality provisions of the APRA Act (section 1).

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