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 Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), or CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of financial services, including retail, business and institutional banking, funds management, superannuation, insurance, investment, and broking services. The Commonwealth Bank is the largest Australian listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange as of August 2015, with brands including Bankwest, Colonial First State Investments, ASB Bank, Commonwealth Securities (CommSec) and Commonwealth Insurance (CommInsure). Its former constituent parts were the Commonwealth Trading Bank of Australia, the Commonwealth Savings Bank of Australia, and the Commonwealth Development Bank.
The Bank of Queensland (BOQ), formerly known as the Brisbane Permanent Benefit Building and Investment Society (BPBBIS) between 1874–1970, is an Australian retail bank with headquarters in Brisbane, Queensland. The bank is one of the oldest financial institutions in Queensland, having begun as a building society. It now has 111 owner-managed branches throughout Australia, including thirty-six corporate branches and third-party intermediaries. They also have over 2,300 ATMs.
AMP is a financial services company in Australia and New Zealand providing superannuation and investment products, financial advice, and banking products including home loans and savings accounts. Its headquarters is in Sydney, Australia.
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 (FCS) guarantees deposits up to $250,000 per account-holder per ADI in the event of the ADI failing.
Superannuation in Australia or "super" is a savings system for workplace pensions in retirement. It involves money earned by an employee being placed into an investment fund to be made legally available to fund members upon retirement. Employers make compulsory payments to these funds at a proportion of their employee's wages. From July 2023, the mandatory minimum "guarantee" contribution is 11%, rising to 12% from 2025. The superannuation guarantee was introduced by the Hawke government to promote self-funded retirement savings, reducing reliance on a publicly funded pension system. Legislation to support the introduction of the superannuation guarantee was passed by the Keating Government in 1992.
Suncorp Group Limited is an Australian finance, insurance, and banking corporation based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of Australia's mid-size banks and its largest general insurance group, formed on 1 December 1996 by the merger of Suncorp, Metway Bank and the Queensland Industry Development Corporation (QIDC).
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).
An industry superannuation fund are Australian superannuation funds that historically were established by Australian trade unions to manage retirement savings for workers in their industry. Funds other than industry funds are referred to as 'retail funds'.
Heritage Bank Limited is Australia's second-largest mutual bank. Its head office is in Toowoomba, Queensland.
UBank is an Australian direct bank, that operates as a division of National Australia Bank (NAB). It was established in 2008, and provides savings products and home loans online and over the phone.
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.
Financial regulation in Australia is extensive and detailed.
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).
In Australia, charitable investment fundraisers (CIF) are not-for-profit entities with charitable purposes that take deposits from the public to finance those charitable purposes. CIFs may apply for an exemption from the requirement to hold an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) if the “financial products” they provide is limited to the issue of debentures or the running of managed investment schemes. For example, the solicitation of secured loans that are paid back with interest are considered debentures. Such deposit taking entities have since 2003 also been exempted from certain requirements of the Banking Act 1959.
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.
Alex Bank is an Australian digital bank. It is based in Brisbane, Queensland.
A$27.300 billion
