Variation of List of Names and Categories of Registered Entities - Societe Generale

Overview

The Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 was enacted to ensure that the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has access to the necessary data to effectively supervise and regulate financial institutions. This Act addresses the problem of ensuring that APRA can maintain and update a comprehensive and accurate register of financial entities to facilitate its regulatory duties. The Australian Parliament enacted this Act to provide a legislative framework for the collection of data by APRA, thus supporting its mandate to enhance the stability and efficiency of the financial sector. The policy objective of the Act is to ensure that APRA can effectively monitor and regulate financial entities by maintaining an up-to-date and accurate register, enabling informed decision-making and regulatory oversight. This legislative instrument, a legislative instrument made under the Act, serves to update the list of registered entities by removing a corporation that has ceased to be registrable, thereby reflecting the current status of entities subject to APRA’s oversight.

Scope and Application

The Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 applies to entities within the financial sector that are required to be registered under the Act. The Act mandates the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) to maintain a Register of Entities and a list of registered entities. This legislation operates at a Commonwealth level, thereby having a national reach, impacting entities such as banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions that are subject to prudential regulation. The Act imposes specific obligations on these entities to collect and provide data to APRA. The scope of the Act can be extended or restricted through subordinate instruments, which may provide further detail on the types of entities and data required. In the specific case of Societe Generale, the Act facilitates the removal of its name from the register and the list of registered entities once it ceases to be a registrable corporation, reflecting the dynamic nature of the financial sector and the necessity for APRA to maintain accurate and up-to-date records.

Key Provisions

The primary sections of the legislation (C2015G00787) in question are section 8, which pertains to the maintenance of the Register of Entities by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), and section 11, which relates to the list of names of registered entities. Section 8 of the Financial Sector (Collection of Data) Act 2001 mandates that APRA keeps a register of entities subject to the Act. Section 11, in turn, specifies that APRA must maintain a list of the names of these registered entities. This particular legislative instrument addresses the removal of a specific corporation, Societe Generale, from both the register and the list of names due to its cessation as a registrable corporation under section 7 of the Act. The Act imposes specific obligations on APRA to maintain accurate and up-to-date records of registered entities. These obligations include ensuring that the register and the list of names are kept current and reflective of the actual status of entities subject to the Act. APRA must also ensure that any changes to the status of these entities, such as the cessation of a corporation from being a registrable entity, are promptly reflected in the records. This is achieved by causing the name of the corporation and related particulars to be removed from the register under paragraph 10(c) of the Act, as demonstrated in the case of Societe Generale. Under this Act, there are no explicit offences or penalties stated for non-compliance with the obligations to maintain the register and the list of names. However, failure to accurately reflect the status of registered entities could potentially lead to administrative or regulatory consequences. In this instance, the Act allows a delegate of APRA, such as Barton Ashcroft, to vary the list by removing the name of a corporation that has ceased to be a registered entity, as per subsection 11(2) of the Act. This action ensures that the list remains accurate and compliant with the requirements of the legislation.