Organisation

Centre for International Finance and Regulation

Owning Institution:

University of New South Wales

Macquarie University

University of Technology Sydney

Government of Australia

Government of New South Wales

University of Sydney

University of Melbourne

Australian National University

The Centre for International Finance and Regulation (CIFR) was a Centre of Excellence operating from 2011 to 2016 to address fundamental issues affecting the Australian financial industry. CIFR’s mission was to promote financial sector vibrancy, resilience and integrity, supporting Australia as a regional financial centre through leading research and education on systemic risk, market and regulatory performance and financial market developments. CIFR funded 71 research projects, involving well over 100 researchers from domestic and international universities.

For Australia’s financial industry, CIFR provided a strategic link between academia, policy-makers, regulators and other industry participants. Now closed, the Centre's output of 148 papers are all available at this publisher page.

Working paper

Independence and the governance of superannuation funds

30 Apr 2016

M. Scott Donald,

Suzanne Le Mire

Centre for International Finance and Regulation

For many years independence has been the catch-cry of policy-makers, regulators and legislators concerned with the corporate governance of listed companies. In Australia, drawing on this model, there has been an increased focus on independence in the context of superannuation fund governance arrangements. As the sector anticipates reform, this paper reports on a series of...

Working paper

Does mandatory risk information disclosure affect bank debt design? Cross-country evidence from yankee bond covenants

30 Apr 2016

Alexandra Niessen-Ruenzi,

Jerry T. Parwada,

Stefan Ruenzi,

Kian M. E. Tan

Centre for International Finance and Regulation

This paper investigates the impact of mandatory risk disclosure on the design of foreign bank debt. The Basel II and III Accords require the public disclosure of bank regulatory information under the Pillar 3 or market discipline framework. The new information details bank risk exposures and management strategies, capital adequacy and remuneration practices to enhance...

Working paper

Is Australia's ‘Twin Peaks’ system of financial regulation a model for China?

30 Apr 2016

Andrew Godwin,

Guo Li,

Ian Ramsay

Centre for International Finance and Regulation

As China’s financial system has become more complex and integrated, calls have intensified for structural reform. In particular, many commentators have called for China to move towards the twin peaks model of financial regulation along the lines of the experience in Australia. This paper explores the insights that China might glean from the experience in...

Working paper

An empirical analysis of the use of enforceable undertakings by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) between 1 July 1998 and 31 December 2015

30 Apr 2016

Centre for International Finance and Regulation

This working paper reports the findings of a detailed empirical study of 414 enforceable undertakings accepted by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the corporate, market, finance and credit services regulator from July 1998 to 31 December 2015, a period of 17.5 years. The study is unique in size, scope and comprehensiveness. It presents...

Working paper

The costs and benefits of financial regulation: A financial CGE assessment of the impact of a rise in commercial bank capital adequacy ratios

30 Apr 2016

James Giesecke,

Peter B. Dixon,

Maureen T. Rimmer

Centre for International Finance and Regulation

Financial regulators in Australia and overseas are requiring banks to raise additional capital. The benefits of this are understood in terms of reducing the risk of incurring the significant costs of another financial crisis. But there are potential costs from securing these benefits, in the form of unanticipated macroeconomic impacts as banks reduce leverage ratios...