Australia’s prudential regulator says banks well equipped to handle a crisis

By Renju Jose

SYDNEY (Reuters) – The chair of Australia’s prudential regulator said on Tuesday the country’s banks were among the best placed in the world to handle a financial crisis.

“The differences between the regulatory requirements for Australian banks and many overseas jurisdictions give us confidence that the banking system here is among the best equipped in the world to handle a crisis,” John Lonsdale, the chair of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, said in speech to the Australian Financial Review’s Banking Summit.

“They don’t, however, make us complacent or blind to the potential impact overseas events can have on financial stability here.”

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank this month was the trigger for the worst banking shock since the 2008 global financial crisis, sending bank stocks globally on a wild ride and raising fears of systemic stress that could lead to more bank failures.