It has been clear that the Bank saw a strong case not to pay a dividend to the Commonwealth during this period, preferring instead to retain earnings, so far as possible, to increase the Bank’s capital. That rebuilding could in fact have taken quite a few years, given the low level of earnings.
Clearing and settlement facilities The third area of our regulatory responsibilities that I want to touch on is the one area where the RBA still effectively acts as a prudential supervisor; that is for central counterparties and securities settlement facilities – two types of so-called financial market infrastructures (FMIs).