Senator Nick Sherry, Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law, has welcomed today's release of the Reserve Bank of Australia's Annual Assessment of Clearing and Settlement Facilities in Australia.
The Report, which is issued to the Minister for Corporate Law, is required under the Corporations Act 2001 and the RBA's Financial Stability Standards and covers the 12-months to end June 2008. The Report assesses how licensed clearing and settlement facilities have complied with the Financial Stability Standards.
"I welcome the RBA's Report and central finding that all four licensed clearing and settlement facilities have complied with the Financial Stability Standards during 2007-08."
"Australia's regulatory system has stood up well to the impacts of the global financial crisis and today's Report is further evidence of that," said Minister Sherry.
The Report includes an assessment of two licensed central counterparties Australian Clearing House (ACH) and SFA Clearing Corporation (SFECC) and the two securities settlement facilities, ASX Settlement and Transfer Corporation (ASTC) and Austraclear.
The assessment report found that all clearing and settlement facilities complied with Financial Stability Standards over 2007/08 despite what the RBA termed 'a challenging year in financial markets'. In particular, the RBA states that risk management processes came under scrutiny as a result of financial problems experienced by a small number of brokers.
"The Government is keen to ensure that the highest standards of market integrity and transparency are maintained. The enhancements to the clearing and settlement arrangements outlined in the Report are further examples of our regulators taking the right action at the right time to ensure the ongoing integrity of our system."