Australia’s banking regulator ordered Macquarie, Rabobank and HSBC to tighten local funding arrangements in a rare act of public shaming.
After the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) recently committed to a tougher stance, it publicly named three banks for breaching liquidity reporting requirements, a major deviation from the past practice of never disclosing entities involved.
According to the statement, the three banks were «improperly reporting the stability of the funding they received from other entities within the group» and that the current arrangement could undermine the stability of the Australian lenders in a stress scenario.
The APRA was «considering a range of further options, including the imposition of higher funding and liquidity requirements» but did not specify the details.
Bank responses
Macquarie claims that differences in the interpretation of liquidity requirements between itself and the regulator will likely show «historical non-compliance» and that it would have removed the clause earlier had it been made aware.
HSBC and Rabobank did not provide specific details about their breaches or the potential cause for alarm.
Tightening occurs in the midst of a series of scandals plaguing Australia’s financial sector with accusations ranging from overcharging customers to misconduct in a sovereign loan to Papa New Guinea.
