What is prudential regulation? | APRA (2024)

APRA is known as Australia’s “prudential regulator”. But what does “prudential regulation” mean?

Put simply, prudential regulation is a legal framework focused on the financial safety and stability of institutions and the broader financial system.

As Australia’s prudential regulator, APRA is responsible for ensuring that the entities it regulates can, under all reasonable circ*mstances, meet the financial commitments they make to a core group of customers. As such, APRA is sometimes described as Australia’s financial safety regulator.

In supervising the financial services industry, APRA seeks to ensure that:

  • deposits in banks, credit unions and building societies are safe and available when depositors need to access their money;
  • insurance companies have the financial means to pay all legitimate claims to their policyholders; and
  • superannuation fund trustees manage contributions in their members’ best financial interests.

Prudential regulators have traditionally focused on financial metrics, such as whether institutions hold enough capital and liquidity to cope with an economic downturn, and whether they are managing financial risks appropriately. Prudential regulators also seek to make sure banks have robust internal controls so that the services they offer are reliably available. Like its peers around the world, in more recent times APRA has increased its focus on non-financial issues such as poor leadership, weaknesses in remuneration practices, or a lack of accountability when things go wrong.

Importantly, prudential regulation is designed to prevent problems emerging, rather than providing a means to take action after harm is caused. The reason for this pre-emptive approach is that it’s wiser and less costly to prevent a crisis, or to mitigate its impact, than to clean up after the event.

APRA’s prudential framework

APRA’s regulatory requirements are laid out in its prudential framework, which has three pillars:

  1. Prudential Standards: These set out APRA’s minimum requirements in relation to capital, governance and risk management (although in most cases APRA doesn’t specify exactly how those outcomes must be achieved). They are legally binding, and APRA-regulated entities must comply with them.
  2. Prudential Guidelines: These provide direction to APRA-regulated entities, setting out practices and steps that entities can follow in order to comply with APRA’s prudential standards. They are not, however, legally binding.
  3. Reporting Standards: These dictate the data that regulated entities must report to APRA and when they must provide it. APRA’s reporting standards are legally binding.

Each industry that APRA regulates – that is, banking, insurance and superannuation – has specific prudential standards, prudential guidelines and reporting standards that apply to them. In addition, APRA has standards and guidelines that apply to multiple industries. These are known as cross-industry standards and cross-industry guidelines.

In practice, however, APRA is a supervision-led regulator, and most of its work is based on encouraging the entities it regulates to engage in better practices. You can find out more about how APRA regulates entities in the banking, insurance and superannuation industries here.

What is prudential regulation? | APRA (2024)

FAQs

What is prudential regulation? | APRA? ›

Put simply, prudential

prudential
Prudential Financial, Inc. is an American Fortune Global 500 and Fortune 500 company whose subsidiaries provide insurance, retirement planning, investment management, and other products and services to both retail and institutional customers throughout the United States and in over 40 other countries.
https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Prudential_Financial
regulation is a legal framework focused on the financial safety and stability of institutions and the broader financial system.

What is the summary of the prudential regulations? ›

Prudential regulations include minimum capital requirements, liquidity or loan portfolio diversification standards, limitations on a bank's investment portfolio or lines of business, and other restrictions intended to limit the type of risks which a banking firm may undertake.

What are the elements of the prudential regulation? ›

Prudential regulation requires banking organizations to prudently measure and manage risks, hold adequate capital and liquidity, and have in place workable recovery and resolution plans.

What is the meaning of prudential requirements? ›

Prudential requirements aim to make the financial sector more stable, while ensuring that it is able to support households, firms, and other end-users of financial services.

What is a prudential regulator in the US? ›

(39) Prudential regulator The term “prudential regulator” means— (A) the Board in the case of a swap dealer, major swap participant, security-based swap dealer, or major security-based swap participant that is— (i) a State-chartered bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System; (ii) a State-chartered branch or ...

What is the meaning of prudential regulation? ›

But what does “prudential regulation” mean? Put simply, prudential regulation is a legal framework focused on the financial safety and stability of institutions and the broader financial system.

What is the theory of prudential regulation? ›

Prudential regulation is shown to operate at a collective level, regulating each bank as a function of both its joint (correlated) risk with other banks as well as its individual (bank-specific) risk.

What are the objectives of prudential regulation? ›

The objective of prudential regulation is to protect the stability of the financial system and protect deposits so its main focus is on the safety and soundness of the banking system and on non bank financial institutions (NBFIs) that take deposits.

What are the characteristics of the prudential regulation? ›

A prudential framework encompasses both the regulatory setting and the supervisory enforcement, which require financial firms to control their risk-taking and to hold adequate capital (and now also liquidity), with the purpose of ensuring the resilience of individual institutions and the stability of the financial ...

Who does the Prudential Regulation Authority regulate? ›

We are the Prudential Regulation Authority

As part of the Bank of England, we are responsible for the prudential regulation and supervision of around 1,330 banks, building societies, credit unions, insurers and major investment firms.

What does prudential mean in simple words? ›

careful and avoiding risks: a prudential approach. prudential judgments. Synonyms. cautious.

What are the prudential norms and regulations? ›

'Any Interest income should be recognized only on cash basis in respect of accounts classified as 'substandard' or 'doubtful' at pre-restructuring stage. A restructured standard asset is subjected to restructuring on a subsequent occasion; it should be classified as substandard.

Why is prudential important? ›

The main aim of prudential regulations is to increase the stability of financial systems; however, such regulations also increase the risk-taking tendency of banks, they encourage them to combine and limit their lending possibilities with, at the same time, lowering the efficiency of monetary policy in affecting ...

Why is Prudential Regulation Authority important? ›

Prudential regulation is concerned with maintaining the safety and soundness of financial institutions, so that the community can have confidence that they will meet their financial commitments under all reasonable circ*mstances.

Who is the prudential regulator? ›

APRA is responsible for the prudential regulation of, and developing prudential policy for, authorised deposit-taking institutions; general insurance, life insurance and friendly societies, private health insurance and reinsurance companies; and most of the superannuation industry. 6.

What is prudential used for? ›

Prudential's diverse and talented employees are committed to helping individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management.

What are the prudential norms in simple words? ›

Prudential norms" are definitionally the guidelines and general norms issued by the regulating bank (the central bank) of the country for the proper and accountable functioning of bank and bank-like establishments. In other words, the norms are the practices that all banks are expected to follow.

What is the purpose of the prudential Authority? ›

The purpose of prudential regulation and supervision is to ensure that financial institutions and market infrastructures operating within the financial system are inherently safe and sound.

What does the prudential regulation Committee do? ›

The PRC governs the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) which is responsible for the prudential regulation of banks, building societies, other deposit takers, insurance companies and certain investment firms.

Top Articles
How to Cure Meat
Sweden – the Cashless Country? - Nature Travels Blog
English Bulldog Puppies For Sale Under 1000 In Florida
Katie Pavlich Bikini Photos
Gamevault Agent
Pieology Nutrition Calculator Mobile
Hocus Pocus Showtimes Near Harkins Theatres Yuma Palms 14
Hendersonville (Tennessee) – Travel guide at Wikivoyage
Compare the Samsung Galaxy S24 - 256GB - Cobalt Violet vs Apple iPhone 16 Pro - 128GB - Desert Titanium | AT&T
Vardis Olive Garden (Georgioupolis, Kreta) ✈️ inkl. Flug buchen
Craigslist Dog Kennels For Sale
Things To Do In Atlanta Tomorrow Night
Non Sequitur
Crossword Nexus Solver
How To Cut Eelgrass Grounded
Pac Man Deviantart
Alexander Funeral Home Gallatin Obituaries
Energy Healing Conference Utah
Geometry Review Quiz 5 Answer Key
Hobby Stores Near Me Now
Icivics The Electoral Process Answer Key
Allybearloves
Bible Gateway passage: Revelation 3 - New Living Translation
Yisd Home Access Center
Home
Shadbase Get Out Of Jail
Gina Wilson Angle Addition Postulate
Celina Powell Lil Meech Video: A Controversial Encounter Shakes Social Media - Video Reddit Trend
Walmart Pharmacy Near Me Open
Marquette Gas Prices
A Christmas Horse - Alison Senxation
Ou Football Brainiacs
Access a Shared Resource | Computing for Arts + Sciences
Vera Bradley Factory Outlet Sunbury Products
Pixel Combat Unblocked
Movies - EPIC Theatres
Cvs Sport Physicals
Mercedes W204 Belt Diagram
Mia Malkova Bio, Net Worth, Age & More - Magzica
'Conan Exiles' 3.0 Guide: How To Unlock Spells And Sorcery
Teenbeautyfitness
Where Can I Cash A Huntington National Bank Check
Topos De Bolos Engraçados
Sand Castle Parents Guide
Gregory (Five Nights at Freddy's)
Grand Valley State University Library Hours
Holzer Athena Portal
Hello – Cornerstone Chapel
Stoughton Commuter Rail Schedule
Nfsd Web Portal
Selly Medaline
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Margart Wisoky

Last Updated:

Views: 6095

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (78 voted)

Reviews: 93% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Margart Wisoky

Birthday: 1993-05-13

Address: 2113 Abernathy Knoll, New Tamerafurt, CT 66893-2169

Phone: +25815234346805

Job: Central Developer

Hobby: Machining, Pottery, Rafting, Cosplaying, Jogging, Taekwondo, Scouting

Introduction: My name is Margart Wisoky, I am a gorgeous, shiny, successful, beautiful, adventurous, excited, pleasant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.