Consistent with an announcement made by the Federal Treasurer on
10 April 2013, the Government has confirmed that the Australian
Office of Financial Management (AOFM) will not
purchase any new residential mortgage-backed securities
(RMBS). As the Government takes the view that the
securitisation market is recovering, the AOFM will also be
permitted to sell existing RMBS. The securitisation industry may
consider this withdrawal of Government backing to be a little
premature as the non-bank lending sector which was drastically
affected during the financial crisis, is still reliant on wholesale
rather than securitisation markets funding.
The Government has released a range of measures to introduce
derivatives reporting and clearing arrangements for the
over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market. Whilst
some of the proposals are still the subject of consultation with
industry, the Government has signalled its commitment to this area
of regulation by the provision of $5.9
