The latest Quarterly Statement by the Council of Financial Regulators shows the heightened regulatory activity in the financial sector.

The Council consists of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Australian Treasury and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The latest meeting included representatives from the ACCC, the Australian Taxation Office and the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC).

Topics covered included:

• Financing conditions and the housing market including ASIC’s public consultation on its responsible lending guidance;
• ASIC’s product intervention powers;
• the implications of new product design and distribution obligations for retail holdings of bank-issued Additional Tier 1 (AT1) instruments;
• APRA’s policy work, including changes to its guidance on the minimum interest rate used in serviceability assessments for residential mortgage lending and APRA’s planned increases in the capital of the major banks to support orderly resolution;
• the design of a crisis management legislative framework for clearing and settlement facilities;
• a potential regulatory framework for payment providers that hold stored value;
• an online tool to improve the transparency of the mortgage interest rates paid on new loans using a new data collection requirement;
• the implications of the changing climate, and society’s response to those changes, for the Australian financial system.

The Council’s updated Charter emphasises the Council’s financial stability objective, while also recognising the benefits of a competitive, efficient and fair financial system.