Financial Sector (Collection of Data) exemption No. 2 of 2010
EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Prepared by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority
Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 (the Act), subsection 16(1)
Under subsection 16(1) of the Act, APRA may, by legislative instrument, exempt a financial sector entity from the requirement to comply with all the requirements or specified requirements contained in applicable reporting standards.
ACT Super Management Pty Limited ABN 29 073 947 690 (ACT Super) is a ‘financial sector entity’ as defined by subsection 5(2) of the Act. Financial Sector (Collection of Data) exemption No. 2 of 2010 (the instrument) exempts ACT Super from the requirements contained in the reporting standards relating to quarterly returns specified in the Schedule in relation to certain registrable superannuation entities.
- Background
On 16 December 2009, APRA suspended Trio Capital Limited (Trio) and appointed ACT Super as the Acting Trustee of the following registrable superannuation entities:
- Astarra Superannuation Plan ABN 43 724 394 795;
- Astarra Personal Pension Plan ABN 74 351 127 106;
- Astarra Pooled Superannuation Trust ABN 71 340 939 814;
- My Retirement Plan ABN 23 732 008 457; and
- The Employers Federation of New South Wales Superannuation Plan ABN 31 061 350 115
(collectively, the RSEs).
On 16 December 2009, the Board of Trio appointed PPB as Administrators. On 22 June 2010, PPB were appointed as Liquidators of Trio.
On 21 October 2009, 16 December 2009 and 18 February 2010, APRA issued Directions to Freeze Assets to ACT Super under subsection 264(3) of the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993.
Trio is the Responsible Entity (RE) of 13 managed investment schemes (MISs). Six of the MISs have significant direct or some exposure to impaired assets.
On 8 April 2010, PPB reported to creditors of Trio that the assets of the MISs with exposure to impaired or partially impaired assets are non- existent, difficult to value, or illiquid.
Two of the five RSEs, being Astarra Superannuation Plan and Astarra Personal Pension Plan, are relevant superannuation entities for the purposes of the following reporting standards:
- SRS 100.0 (2005) Statement of Financial Performance;
- SRS 110.0 (2005) Statement of Financial Position;
- SRS 110.1 (2005) Selected Disclosure of Investments;
- SRS 110.2 (2005) Derivative Financial Instruments; and
- SRS 120.0 (2005) Exposure Concentrations
(collectively, the reporting standards).
Given the exposure to the impaired and partially impaired MISs, ACT Super is unable to accurately value the investments made by Trio in its capacity as the trustee of the RSEs, and ACT Super is consequently unable to prepare the requisite reports under the reporting standards in respect of the two RSEs.
It is unlikely that excluding reporting data from ACT Super under the reporting standards with regards to the two RSEs would materially impact APRA’s data collection objectives, given the restrictions placed on the RSEs’ operations since late 2009 as outlined above and the uncertainty still surrounding the values of the RSEs’ assets.
2. Purpose of the instrument
The purpose of the instrument is to exempt ACT Super from all of the requirements relating to quarterly reporting in the reporting standards.
3. Consultation
APRA has been in consultation with ACT Super in relation to this issue.