The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) is a statutory authority of the Australian Government and the prudential regulator of the Australian financial services industry. APRA was established on 1 July 1998 in response to the recommendations of the Wallis Inquiry. APRA's authority and scope is determined pursuant to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority Act, 1998 (Cth).
The Australian financial system consists of the arrangements covering the borrowing and lending of funds and the transfer of ownership of financial claims in Australia, comprising:
Banking in Australia is dominated by four major banks: Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank. There are several smaller banks with a presence throughout the country which includes Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, Suncorp Bank, and a large number of other financial institutions, such as credit unions, building societies and mutual banks, which provide limited banking-type services and are described as authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs). Many large foreign banks have a presence, but few have a retail banking presence. The central bank is the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). The Australian government’s Financial Claims Scheme guarantees deposits up to $250,000 per account-holder per ADI in the event of the ADI failing.
Deposit insurance or deposit protection is a measure implemented in many countries to protect bank depositors, in full or in part, from losses caused by a bank's inability to pay its debts when due. Deposit insurance systems are one component of a financial system safety net that promotes financial stability.
Financial institutions in Australia are only permitted to accept deposits from the public if they are authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs). The ADI’s authority is granted by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) under the Banking Act 1959 (Cth).
Tyro Payments Limited (Tyro) is an Australian payments financial institution specialising in merchant credit, debit and EFTPOS acquiring.
The four pillars policy is an Australian Government policy to maintain the separation of the four largest banks in Australia by rejecting any merger or acquisition between the four major banks. The policy, rather than formal regulation, first articulated in 1990, reflects the competitive concerns of more concentration as well as the broad political unpopularity of further bank mergers. A number of economically liberalist commentators have argued that the "four pillars" policy is built upon economic fallacies and works against Australia's better interests.
The Australian property bubble is the economic theory that the Australian property market has become or is becoming significantly overpriced and due for a significant downturn. Since the early 2010s, various commentators, including one Treasury official, have claimed the Australian property market is in a significant bubble.
ME Bank, also known as ME, is an Australian direct bank based in Melbourne. It became a subsidiary of Bank of Queensland in July 2021.
IMB Bank is an Australian mutual bank established in 1880. In 2020, IMB Bank was voted by Forbes as one of the World's Best Banks, and, in 2022, was found by financial services research company Canstar to have Australia's Most Satisfied Customers for both the Bank and Mutual Bank categories.
Bank Australia is an Australian customer-owned bank based in Collingwood, Victoria. The organisation can trace its origins back to 1957, when the CSIRO Co-operative Credit Society was formed. Over succeeding years, mergers among 72 other credit unions and co-operative banks eventually led to the creation of the Members & Education Credit Union (mecu) in 2003, which became Bankmecu in 2011, and Bank Australia in 2015.
Financial regulation in Australia is extensive and detailed.
Cuscal Limited is an Australian company that provides payments and data to Australian Banks, credit unions, mutual savings banks, corporates and Fintechs.
Greater Bank is an Australian customer-owned bank and now a brand of Newcastle Greater Mutual Group, an organisation formed through the merger between Greater Bank and Newcastle Permanent Building Society.
ING Bank (Australia) Limited is a direct bank operating in Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of the multinational Dutch bank, ING Group. ING in Australia holds an Australian banking licence as a foreign subsidiary company.
Auswide Bank Ltd, formerly known as Wide Bay Australia, was Australia’s 10th bank listed and trading on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
Judo Bank is an Australian neobank focused on small and medium-sized enterprise lending but also offers a range of personal term deposit products to consumers.
Volt Bank was an Australian consumer neobank, the first such bank to be issued with a restricted ADI licence by APRA. In June 2022, the bank announced it would permanently close its deposit-taking business and voluntarily return its banking licence, citing funding issues.
Xinja is an Australian fintech company and former bank. Xinja was granted a full banking license by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority in 2019. Xinja Bank was the second Australian neobank to be made an authorised deposit-taking institution. The company exited banking in December 2020 and returned to business in fintech.
Alex Bank is an Australian digital bank. It is based in Brisbane, Queensland.
