Basel Committee on Banking Supervision

1 Basel Committee on Banking Supervision Regulatory Consistency assessment Programme (RCAP) assessment of Basel III LCR regulations Australia October 2017 This publication is available on the BIS website ( ). Bank for International Settlements 2017. All rights reserved. Brief excerpts may be reproduced or translated provided the source is stated. ISBN 978-92-9259-110-6 (online) Regulatory Consistency assessment Programme Australia iii Contents Preface .. 2 Executive summary .. 4 Response from APRA .. 6 1. assessment context and main findings .. 7 Context .. 7 Structure, enforceability and binding nature of prudential regulations .. 8 Scope of the assessment .. 8 Main findings .. 9 2. Detailed assessment findings.

2 12 Scope of application and transitional arrangements .. 12 LCR .. 13 High-quality liquid assets (numerator) .. 13 Outflows (denominator).. 15 Inflows (denominator) .. 18 LCR disclosure requirements .. 18 Observations and other findings specific to the implementation practices in Australia .. 19 Scope of application and transitional arrangements .. 19 Outflows (denominator).. 19 Annexes .. 20 Annex 1: RCAP assessment Team and Review Team .. 20 Annex 2: List of LCR standards under the Basel framework used for the assessment .. 21 Annex 3: Local regulations issued by APRA for implementing Basel LCR standards .. 22 Annex 4: Details of the RCAP assessment process .. 23 Annex 5: assessment of bindingness of regulatory documents .. 24 Annex 6: Key liquidity indicators of the Australian Banking system.

3 26 Annex 7: Materiality assessment .. 28 Annex 8: Australia s implementation of the liquidity monitoring tools .. 29 Annex 9: Australia s implementation of the Principles of sound liquidity risk management and Supervision .. 30 Annex 10: Areas for further guidance from the Basel Committee .. 32 Annex 11: List of issues for follow-up RCAP assessments .. 33 Annex 12: Areas where Australia s LCR rules are stricter than the Basel standards .. 34 Annex 13: Implementation of LCR elements subject to prudential judgment or discretion in 35 Regulatory Consistency assessment Programme Australia 1 Glossary ADI Authorised deposit-taking institution APG APS ARS APRA ADI Prudential Practice Guide ADI Prudential Standard ADI Reporting Standards Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Banking Act Basel Committee Banking Act 1959 Basel Committee on Banking Supervision BIS C D-SIB FAQ FSAP G-SIB HLA HQLA LC LCR MAS MNC NC PAIRS PCR PIE PPGs QIS RBNZ RCAP Bank for International Settlements Compliant (grade) Domestic systemically important bank Frequently asked question Financial Sector assessment Program Global systemically important bank Higher loss absorbency High-quality liquid assets Largely compliant (grade)

4 Liquidity Coverage Ratio Monetary Authority of Singapore Materially non-compliant (grade) Non-compliant (grade) Probability and Impact Rating System Prudential capital requirement Personal Investment Entity Prudential Practice Guides Quantitative Impact Study Reserve Bank of New Zealand Regulatory Consistency assessment Programme SIG SMSF SOARS Supervision and Implementation Group Self-managed super fund Supervisory Oversight and Response System 2 Regulatory Consistency assessment Programme Australia Preface The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision ( Basel Committee ) sets a high priority on the implementation of regulatory standards underpinning the Basel III framework. The prudential benefits from adopting Basel standards can only fully accrue if these are implemented appropriately and consistently by all member jurisdictions.

5 The Basel Committee established the Regulatory Consistency assessment Programme (RCAP) to monitor, assess and evaluate its members implementation of the Basel III framework. This report presents the findings of an RCAP assessment Team on the domestic adoption of the Basel Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR) in Australia and its consistency with the minimum requirements of the Basel III framework. The assessment is based on the Australian LCR rules of the Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADI) Prudential Standards (APS), supplemented by the ADI Reporting Standards (ARS) and ADI Prudential Practice Guide (APG). The RCAP assessment Team was led by Mr Ong Chong Tee, Deputy Managing Director of Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The assessment Team comprised two technical experts drawn from Turkey and the United States (Annex 1).

6 The main counterparty for the assessment was the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), which in turn coordinated with other Australian authorities. The overall work was coordinated by the Basel Committee Secretariat with support from MAS staff members. The focus of the assessment was on the consistency and completeness of the Australian LCR rules with the Basel minimum requirements. Issues relating to prudential outcomes, the liquidity position of individual banks or the effectiveness of APRA s supervisory effectiveness were not in the scope of this RCAP assessment . The assessment relied upon data, information and materiality computations provided by APRA and was based on Australian regulations in force as of 30 June 2017.

7 Where deviations from the Basel III framework were identified, they were evaluated for their current and potential impact on the reported LCR for a sample of internationally active banks in Australia. Some findings were evaluated on a qualitative basis in instances where appropriate quantitative data were not available. The overall assessment outcome was then based on the materiality of findings (in both quantitative and qualitative terms) and ultimately reflects the expert view of the assessment Team. The assessment Team followed the methodology and guidance provided in the RCAP Handbook for Jurisdictional Starting in November 2016, the assessment comprised (i) completion of an RCAP questionnaire (a self- assessment ) by the Australian authorities; (ii) an assessment phase (February to June 2017); and (iii) a post- assessment review phase (July September 2017).

8 The second phase included an evaluation of the self- assessment provided by the Australian authorities as well as an on-site visit assessment , which included discussions with APRA and representatives of Australian banks. These exchanges provided the assessment Team with a deeper understanding of the implementation of the Basel LCR standards in Australia. The third phase consisted of a two-stage technical review of the assessment findings: first, by a separate RCAP Review Team (Annex 1) and via feedback from the Basel Committee s Supervision and Implementation Group (SIG); and second, by the RCAP Peer Review Board and the Basel Committee . This review process is a key part of the RCAP process, providing quality control and ensuring the integrity of the assessment findings.

9 The report has three sections and a set of annexes: (i) an executive summary with a statement from APRA; (ii) the context, scope and methodology and the main set of assessment findings; and (iii) details of the deviations and their materiality along with other assessment -related observations. 1 See Regulatory Consistency assessment Programme Australia 3 The RCAP assessment Team acknowledges the professional cooperation received from APRA throughout the assessment process. In particular, the assessment Team sincerely thanks the APRA Chairman Wayne Byres and APRA member Kevin Stephenson and the staff of APRA for the professional and efficient cooperation extended to the team throughout the assessment . The assessment Team is confident that the RCAP assessment exercise will contribute towards further strengthening of the prudential effectiveness and full implementation of the LCR in Australia.

10 4 Regulatory Consistency assessment Programme Australia Executive summary The Australian framework for LCR requirements was issued in November 2014 through the publication of the final Prudential Standard APS 210 Liquidity and the associated reporting framework. The requirements came into effect in January 2015. The Prudential Standard APS 210 Liquidity applies to all Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) in Australia, including small and medium-sized commercial Banking institutions that are not internationally active, although it applies to the smallest domestic institutions with a degree of proportionality to take into account the size and nature of their activities. Overall, as of 30 June 2017 (the cut-off date for the RCAP assessment ), the LCR regulations in Australia are assessed as compliant with the Basel LCR standard.