Our mission: to
establish and enforce prudential standards and practices designed to ensure
that, under all reasonable circumstances,
financial promises made by institutions we supervise are met within a
stable, efficient and competitive financial system.
In June 1996, the Financial System Inquiry (known as the Wallis Inquiry) was
established to examine the results of the deregulation of the Australian
financial system, to examine the forces driving further change, particularly
technological and recommend changes to the regulatory system to ensure an
'efficient, responsive, competitive and flexible financial system to underpin
stronger economic performance, consistent with financial stability, prudence,
integrity and fairness.
Australian Financial Institutions Commission (AFIC).
The Wallis Inquiry recommended a new structure.[1]The
Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) was to deal withmonetary
policyand systemic stability
with the Payments System Board considering payments systems regulation.
The Corporations and Financial Services Commission (a renamed and expanded
Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) ) was to deal with market
integrity, consumer protection and corporations.
APRA was established on 1 July 1998 under theAustralian
Prudential Regulation Authority Act 1998. APRA became prominent in -
While ASIC’s primary focus is on illegal actions by individuals (and
arguably corporations), APRA’s mandate is to consider risks to the whole
banking system. However having made the argument, APRA promptly forgets its
systemic role and starts dabbling in the same mess that ASIC is trying to
clean up,without
much success."
"APRA is a statutory authority which was formed in 1998 to promote the
prudent management of financial institutions. Its regulatory function
extends to the supervision of banks, life insurers, building societies,
credit unions, friendly societies and superannuation funds. APRA has the
power to require financial organisations to observe prudential standards,
and may intervene, where necessary, to protect the interests of depositors,
policy-holders or members. In
addition, APRA has far-reaching powers of investigation, intervention and
administration."
"Not as broad as the ground-breaking Campbell report, the Wallis
recommendations led to the creation in 1998 of a central financial
regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, which took over
bank supervision from the Reserve Bank and was also given oversight of the
non-bank financial sector, including companies involved in insurance,
superannuation and credit unions."
"The Wallis Inquiry recommended
a functional model of financial regulation in Australia, in which four
separate agencies are responsible for financial regulation. The four
agencies are:
an agency responsible for the stability of the financial
system as a whole and for the payments system — this is a traditional
central banking role and is with
the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA);
an agency responsible for the prudential supervision of
financial institutions in certain key financial industries — this is
APRA;
an agency to monitor market conduct, including
disclosure standards,
consumer protectionand
consumer financial information — this is the Australian
Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC); and
an agency
overseeing competition in the financial system – this is the Australian
Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)."