Wayne Byres resigns as APRA chair

The head of the country's prudential regulator, Wayne Byres, is leaving the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) after eight years in the job.

Byres said the right for a change in leadership.Byres said he planned to step down at the end of October.

The APRA chair has led the regulator through the pandemic, the Hayne Commission and the aftermath of the global financial crisis, where APRA forced banks to hold higher levels of tier one capital to weather a severe recession.

In late 2011, Byres left to take up the appointment as secretary-general of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the global rule-setter.

He held this position until his return to Australia in mid-2014.

Byres got props globally for driving through tougher demands on bank capital and liquidity.

Early on,  the prudential regulator announced moves to make all banks safer, with the big four bearing the brunt of increased capital requirements to make them "unquestionably strong".

Before joining APRA when it was established in 1998, Byres served as a senior manager in the bank supervision department at Australia's central bank.

He said stepping down as chairman had been a difficult decision but the financial system was stable, and it was an appropriate time for change.

"There is always more to do, but the financial system is stable, APRA's leadership team is strong, and the organisation and its people are well-placed to continue to manage future challenges," Byres said.

"Against that backdrop, I feel that now is a good time to hand over the chair's role to someone new, who will lead the organisation on the next stage of its journey. Just as we expect the financial institutions we regulate to carefully consider how they renew their leadership, the same applies to APRA."

Treasurer Jim Chalmers acknowledged Byres's contribution and highlighted his role in helping to promote financial stability during the pandemic.

"Under Mr Byres' leadership, APRA's public profile has been strengthened through his commitment to transparency and communication - important in underpinning public trust in the security of Australia's financial system," he said.