The Reserve Bank of Australia published the Council of Financial Regulators’ quarterly statement summarising its March 2026 meeting, which focused on elevated global financial stability risks linked to escalating conflict in the Middle East and the implications for Australia’s financial system. The Council emphasised the need for banks to maintain strong capital and liquidity and for lending standards to remain prudent amid high household indebtedness, strong recent credit growth and reports of strong competition among lenders. Crisis preparedness discussions covered the policy tools available to respond to instability, coordination arrangements under the CFR crisis management memorandum of understanding and the role of regular simulation exercises. The Council reviewed progress in resolution planning with key financial institutions and agreed an inter-agency workplan for the year ahead to enhance preparedness for capital and liquidity stress scenarios. On cyber and operational resilience, the forward program includes continued cyber stress testing through the Cyber Operational Resilience Intelligence-led Exercises framework, work on risks from quantum computing and actions to manage risks arising from common dependencies on critical third parties. On “better regulation”, agencies (with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) reviewed industry engagement aimed at streamlining data collection and data sharing, and identified actions to reduce duplication and inconsistencies and streamline reporting requirements, with an overview to be published in the first half of 2026. The Council also discussed the International Monetary Fund’s 2026 Financial Sector Assessment Program work on Australia, wholesale cash distribution issues, and anticipated initiatives following the conclusion of Project Acacia on tokenisation in wholesale markets.
Reserve Bank of Australia 2026-03-23
Reserve Bank of Australia publishes Council of Financial Regulators quarterly statement on heightened geopolitical risk and crisis and cyber preparedness
The Reserve Bank of Australia's Council of Financial Regulators' quarterly statement highlighted elevated global financial stability risks from Middle East conflicts affecting Australia's financial system. The Council emphasized strong bank capital and liquidity, prudent lending standards, crisis preparedness, and cyber resilience. Efforts to streamline data collection and reporting were reviewed, alongside discussions on the IMF's Financial Sector Assessment Program and Project Acacia's tokenisation initiatives.