Please read the following extract from an article by Simon Johanson in the Sydney Morning Herald on 7th March 2017, APRA fires warning shot over commercial property lending, and answer the following questions:
Australia's banking watchdog has flagged concerns about commercial property lending, sounding a warning about falling lending standards at domestic and foreign banks. The regulator put Australia's banks on notice, saying it expected improvements in their lending and management standards and would be conducting further investigations this year.
Digital Finance Analytics banking and finance consultant Martin North said APRA had fired "another shot across the bows". The regulator was concerned about temperature of the property market.
It had been "breathing down the necks" of banks on residential lending and was now focusing on commercial loans, he said. APRA said over the past year it had observed a general tightening of standards, especially for residential development lending. However it was concerned, the tightening was not "uniform".
- APRA is responsible for monitoring and supervising the risks taken by Australias banks in pursuit of profit opportunities. Briefly identify and distinguish between the three main risks discussed in the lectures.
- True or false: depending on the levels of risk taken by the banks, they are required to hold at least a minimum level of reserves in their exchange settlement accounts? Provide a one sentence (or two sentences) explanation for your answer.
- The above extract concentrates on a particular form of risk. In one sentence, explain which of the three forms of risk is being discussed here.
- APRA has fired a âshot across the bows of the banks (that is, given them another warning about their activities). If APRA determined that the banks had taken on excessive risks relating to commercial property lending, what would be the most likely form of action for APRA to take? A one sentence answer should be sufficient.
- How would such action by APRA affect (i) interest rates on commercial property lending; (ii) dividend payments to bank shareholders; (iii) the share prices of the banks on the ASX?