APRA has released the findings of its biennial survey of regulated entities and other observers have found that its regulatory and supervisory approaches are having a positive impact on risk management and culture in the industries it regulates.
The survey conducted by Orima Research is the sixth survey undertaken and found that more than 90 per cent of regulated entities believe APRA’s supervision has helped protect both the industry and the Australian community.
A similar number of entities reported a positive impact on risk management practices and 86 per cent believed the increased focus on risk culture had a positive impact.
APRA was also found to be effective in identifying risks across the industry by 81 per cent and 86 per cent believe the supervision enhances the financial and operational strength of their entity.
This is a far cry from Kenneth Hayne’s royal commission final report that found the authority was lacking in its approach to the banks.
It was noted throughout the royal commission how APRA had a cosy relationship with those it regulated.
One such recommendation by the royal commission was to conduct a capability review which criticised the authority for having “strong preference to do things behind the scenes with regulated entities.”
Even the release of that review was dropped late at night to a select group of reporters and then only having a teleconference with that same group rather than an open press conference.
The positivity of APRA in the survey may stem from those involved with the review being the regulated entities of which it has been accused of being too cosy with.
Despite the net positivity the results were slightly down from the perceptions revealed in the 2017 survey which highlighted industry concern about the costs of regulatory compliance.
APRA chair Wayne Byres said in the wake of recent events the authority was taking stock of how it could do better.
“In the wake of both the royal commission and the more recent capability review, APRA is taking stock of how it can bring into effect a significant number of recommendations about how we must do more in new areas of risk, without compromising APRA’s primary focus on financial safety and stability,” he said.
Mr Byres said the survey was important in monitoring the authority’s effectiveness and publishing the results showed a commitment to transparency.
“The biennial stakeholder surveys are an important tool that helps us monitor our performance and the effectiveness of our supervision activities, including by identifying areas where we can improve,” he said.
