IMF Staff Country Reports

This paper analyzes systemic risks related to Financial Market Infrastructures (FMI) in Australia, in particular central counterparties (CCP). Supervision and oversight of FMIs is well-established with supervisory expectations importantly strengthened over the past few years. It is recommended that the Reserve Bank of Australia considers reviewing its approach to payment systems oversight, in particular by providing greater clarity as regards requirements for systemically and less systemically important payment systems. The IMF team suggests that Australian authorities could benefit from the experiences of and lessons learned by other jurisdictions through their regular and more specialized coordination and communication efforts with other supervisors and resolution authorities. The authorities should also review, and could benefit from, the experiences of and lessons learned in the formulation and codification of Australia’s bank and insurer resolution regime. Enforcement powers for the supervision of CCPs and Securities Settlement Systems should however be strengthened in accordance with the Principles for Financial Market Infrastructures.