Actuaries break into banking
The inaugural ‘Banking On Change’ Seminar explored international and domestic market influences on the Australian banking landscape, as well as technological developments and mortgage market issues. A range of insightful presentations and influential speakers ensured its success. Peter Sinkis reports.
On Wednesday 16 September the Actuaries Institute and Banking Practice Committee launched the first major event focused entirely on the banking industry. ‘Banking on Change’ addressed the rapid change in regulation, technology and markets of the banking industry.
The day began with Institute President Estelle Pearson welcoming 90 delegates (Members and non-Members) before Institute CEO David Bell introduced our keynote speakers: Wayne Byres (Chairman, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) and Guy Debelle (Assistant Governor (Financial Markets), Reserve Bank of Australia).
The audience, including representatives from the ABC, AFR and other media outlets, heard first hand of the major changes stemming from post-crisis regulatory reform, as well as a detailed overview of bond market liquidity, long-term rates and the influence of changes in China’s public and private investment mix.
“There is no shortage of important issues where the analytical disciplines of the actuarial profession can make a significant contribution,” – Wayne Byres, Chairman, APRA
Wayne Byres (pictured right), whose speech focused on the changes stemming from the post-crisis regulatory reforms in banking and the capital strength and resilience of the Australian banking sector, expressed his appreciation that the Actuaries Institute is taking a greater interest in banking-related matters.
“There is no shortage of important issues where the analytical disciplines of the actuarial profession can make a significant contribution,” he said.
Guy Debelle’s (pictured below) speech focused on bond market liquidity, long-term rates and China. He warned that Australia must ready itself for financial aftershocks of the coming interest rate rise in the US and also spoke on the effect of government bond yields on the discount rates used in actuarial calculations.
There was a high level of media interest in the Seminar and the comments from both keynote speakers resulted in extensive media coverage.
The keynote presentations were followed by a plenary considering the role of technological change and it’s influence on banking by Kelly Bayer Rosmarin (Group Executive for Institutional Banking and Markets, Commonwealth Bank of Australia) and Angat Sandhu (Principal, Oliver Wyman).
Following lunch, the afternoon began with James Hikey (Partner, Deloitte) and Sean Carmody (General Manager, Risk Analytics and Insights, Westpac Banking Corporation) providing us with a compelling overview of the Australian Mortgage market from both a top-down external perspective, and internal bank view.
The final session brought us full circle with perspectives from Paolo Tonucci (Group Treasurer, Commonwealth Bank of Australia) and Gordon Allison (Head of Treasury Development and Transformation, National Australia Bank) on how the banks have addressed regulation and how it has influenced their thinking.
Keep an eye out for some more detailed articles in the coming weeks which will delve into the insights presented and discussions that took place on the day.
Thank you to the plenary chairs, organising committee, the Banking Practice Committee, and the hardworking Actuaries Institutes events team for making this a success. Also thank you to all our speakers and attendees, we hope you had a great day and made the most of the networking sessions that took place.
View more photos from ‘Banking On Change’ and download presentations.
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