Wayne Byres, a former chair at the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is set to join the board of Macquarie Bank in the first quarter of 2024.
Pending necessary approvals, he will join as a non-executive director on 1 February 2024.
Byres had been part of APRA since its establishment in 1998, where he held a range of senior executive positions across policy and supervisory divisions. He was secretary general of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision from 2012–14.
He was appointed APRA chair in July 2014 and was elected for a second term in July 2019 for another five years. However, he announced an early departure in July 2022 and stepped down three months later.
As highlighted by Treasurer Jim Chalmers at his departure, Byres has also been an important contributor to the Council of Financial Regulators and the Payments System Board of the Reserve Bank.
He has most recently been working in an advisory capacity with the International Monetary Fund.
In an ASX statement, Macquarie noted: “Following the retirement of Michael Coleson, expected in mid-2024, Mr Byres will be one of three bank-only non-executive directors alongside Ian Saines and David Whiteing and will contribute to strengthening the voice of [Macquarie Bank Limited] within the group.”
Ahead of departing APRA last year, Byres described it as an “an honour and a privilege” to have served as chair.
“I’ve enjoyed the past eight years immensely, and I’m pleased with what has been achieved by APRA in that time. There is always more to do, but the financial system is stable, APRA’s leadership team is strong, and the organisation and its people are well-placed to continue to manage future challenges,” he said.
“Against that backdrop, I feel that now is a good time to hand over the chair’s role to someone new, who will lead the organisation on the next stage of its journey.
“Just as we expect the financial institutions we regulate to carefully consider how they renew their leadership, the same applies to APRA. It has been a difficult decision to make, as there is much about APRA I will miss, but after eight years as chair I believe the time is right. I have every confidence the organisation will continue to do great things for the Australian community.”
The role has since been taken up by John Lonsdale, who originally joined APRA as deputy chair in October 2018.
