Treasury head outlines cross-border issues

One of Australia’s most senior bureaucrats, secretary of the Treasury Ken Henry, has supported improving Australia’s cross-border regulatory framework to encourage financial services exports.

In a speech to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Summer School in Melbourne today, Henry said that with the Australian financial services industry being so dynamic, it was imperative that Australia’s regulatory framework remained competitive, flexible and responsive to global commercial and regulatory developments.

“As we improve Australia’s cross-border regulatory framework, there will remain a place for unilateral recognition. No doubt, there is scope for some fine-tuning of the existing scheme,” he said.

“However, for selected countries, mutual recognition will offer greater benefits,” Henry said. “Mutual recognition goes further than unilateral recognition in strengthening the ties between regulators.”

He said it might be useful for Australia to begin thinking about a set of principles that might guide the approach to mutual recognition.

“If nothing else, such a set of principles would assist foreign regulators and markets in determining the regulatory approach that suits them best when they consider closer regulatory and commercial integration with the Australian finance industry,” Henry said.