Regulation Impact Statement - Department of the Treasury
On 13 February 2019, the Government introduced the Treasury Laws Amendment (Australian Business Securitisation Fund) Bill 2019 to establish an Australian Business Securitisation Fund (ABSF) to assist the development of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) securitisation market and improve SME lending conditions.
If enacted, the ABSF will facilitate access to securitised funding and related warehouse funding by lenders (banks and non-bank lenders) to SMEs. This is intended to allow smaller banks and non-bank lenders to compete more effectively against the four major banks, which in turn, may lead to reduced prices in the market, increased diversity of SME lending products and increased access to finance for SMEs.
The Australian Office of Financial Management (AOFM) will be responsible for administering the ABSF in accordance with legislation and making its investment decisions. The ABSF will have a Government balance sheet exposure of up to $2 billion.
The Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR) assessed the Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) prepared by the Department of the Treasury as compliant with the Government’s RIS requirements and consistent with best practice.
The RIS estimates the average annual regulatory cost of the proposal to be $0.1 million. The OBPR agreed that, as the costs were less than $2 million per annum, regulatory costs could be self-assessed by the Department of the Treasury.