APRA Announces Aggregate Committed Liquidity Facility for Banks
APRA announced the updated aggregate amounts for the 2021 Committed Liquidity Facility (CLF) established between the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and certain locally incorporated authorized deposit-taking institutions that are subject to the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR). After including the reductions that became effective on or before February 01, 2021, the total CLF amount allocated for 2021 is approximately AUD 139 billion. Authorized deposit-taking institutions have reduced their CLF allocations owing to the material improvements in funding and liquidity of authorized deposit-taking institutions as well as the substantial increases in government securities.
APRA invited all authorized deposit-taking institutions that are subject to LCR to apply for their 2021 CLF allocation, effective as at April 01, 2021. The amount of Australian Government Securities and securities issued by the borrowing authorities of the states and territories (AUD HQLA) has increased significantly and is projected to increase further. As a result, future CLF allocations are likely to decrease further. APRA expects to ensure measured CLF reductions to avoid financial market disruptions; however, it would be reasonable to expect that if government securities outstanding continue to increase beyond 2021, the CLF may no longer be required in the foreseeable future.
The LCR is a minimum requirement that aims to ensure that authorized deposit-taking institutions maintain sufficient unencumbered high-quality liquid assets (HQLA) to survive a severe liquidity stress scenario lasting for 30 calendar days. The LCR is part of the Basel III package of measures to strengthen the global banking system. The CLF is intended to be sufficient in size to compensate for the lack of sufficient available HQLA, which in Australia consist of mainly AGS and securities issued by the borrowing authorities of the states and territories.
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Keywords: Asia Pacific, Australia, Banking, Committed Liquidity Facility, LCR, HQLA, Liquidity Risk, RBA, Basel, APRA
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