The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority wants more distance from potential government intrusion on plans for closer banking scrutiny, The Australian Financial Review reports.
The executive chairman of the banking regulator, John Laker, says APRA would like to see the same kind of shield from interference that the Reserve Bank of Australia receives, a measure that was introduced after the Wallis inquiry in 1998 before being canned in 2003.
“We’re not looking for anything more than what was in the original vision of the Wallis inquiry,” Dr Laker told the AFR. “Previously we had the same mechanism as the RBA and that was moved to a mechanism more akin to what ASIC [the Australian Securities and Investments Commission] has.”
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Dr Laker, who retires from APRA this week after 11 years in the top job, added that the Australian banking system was on solid footing, and was on track to implement Basel III requirements ahead of time.
The outgoing APRA chairman also disputed claims Australia was home to a housing bubble that threatens the banking system, noting that lending standards had improved and caution was still evident in the community.