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ARTICLE · 15 FEBRUARY 2018

Banking Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) becomes law

DibbsBarker
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BEAR is the latest in a long line of regulatory changes to impact the banking industry since the global financial crisis.

AustraliaFinance and Banking
Benjamin Shaw (Formerly With DibbsBaker)
Benjamin Shaw (Formerly With DibbsBaker)
Shael Geffen (Formerly With Dibbsbarker)
Shael Geffen (Formerly With Dibbsbarker)
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Services: Banking & Finance
Industry Focus: Financial Services

What you need to know

  • On 7 February 2018 the Senate passed the Treasury Laws Amendment (Banking Executive Accountability and Related Measures) Bill 2018.
  • Under the regime known as the BEAR, ADIs and their subsidiaries will have additional obligations to conduct their business with integrity (and report on any failures), face restrictions in relation to variable remuneration of certain executives, and be subjected to a greater range of penalties under the increased powers of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
  • Large financial institutions will need to be BEAR compliant by 1 July 2018, while smaller and medium sized institutions will have an extra 12 months to comply with the new regime.

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