Limited scope for regulatory overlap claims APRA chief

The chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), John Laker, has argued that recent efforts to harmonise arrangements with the other financial services regulators means there is now limited potential for overlap.

Addressing a conference in Perth, Laker said APRA had sought to harmonise its requirements with those of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) where possible, including the “fit and proper standard”.

“For APRA purposes, responsible persons are those persons in an institution whose conduct is most likely to have a significant impact on its sound and prudent management,” he said. “ASIC has a separate framework for responsible officers as part of its Australian Financial Services (AFS) licensing regime. For ASIC purposes, responsible officers are those persons who are directly responsible for significant day-to-day business decisions about the ongoing provision of financial services.

“In our view, there is limited potential for overlap between the APRA and ASIC frameworks,” Laker said. “Nonetheless, we have been careful to minimise the risk of double-handling.”

He said the APRA approach allowed institutions to take into account ASIC’s assessment, or information collected for that assessment, in making its judgements about the fitness and propriety of particular individuals.