Australia's big banks rally on 'benign' capital requirements

The rules are part of regulatory efforts to ensure the country's large lenders can weather any downturn

Published Wed, Jul 19, 2017 · 09:50 PM

    Sydney

    SHARES of Australia's big four lenders rallied as new capital requirements aimed at ensuring the banks are "unquestionably strong" turned out to be less onerous than expected.

    Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp will need to have Tier-1 capital ratios of at least 10.5 per cent by January 1, 2020, the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) said in a statement on Wednesday.