Part A: Essay: Dynamics of Financial Services Sector in Australia In this assessment task, you will be required to write an essay on the structure, environment and role of the financial services...

TASK 1- PART A
Industry Overview
The financial services sector in Australia is highly sophisticated. It is characterised by deep financial markets, skilled investment management, compulsory retirement savings scheme and highly advanced infrastructure. The Australian financial services industry is looking to expand globally particularly in the Asia-Pacific region. The sector is highly regulated with the regulations being considered the best in the world. The Government of Australia is stringent as regards the regulation of this industry and is taking steps to improve the global competitiveness of the financial services sector. It is also keen to take measures for the simplification of the regulations and to identify barriers to the growth opportunities which lie in this sector.
Sectors
The financial services sector in Australia is broadly divided into the following segments:
i. Asset Based leasing and finance: Equipment leasing comprises 40% of the total capital expenditure in Australia (Austrade.gov.au, 2017). This segment offers various services such as operating and financial leases and asset-backed debt financing. It also provides structured and vendor finance for large capital assets.
ii. Fund Management: Since Australia has a compulsory retirement scheme the superannuation segment of the financial services sector has ample opportunities for growth. The knowledgeable investor base ensures good demand for fund products. This segment involves various foreign asset managers and the entities are responsible for managing their own investment schemes.
iii. Hedge funds: The hedge fund sector in Australia offers arbitrage and strategies in futures and derivatives to help investors in increasing their wealth.
iv. Insurance: Australian financial services sector has a well regulated and competitive insurance segment. The sector is further divided into life, general and health insurance. While life and general insurance have the presence of foreign insurers, private health insurance is predominantly domestic.
v. Investment Banking: Australian investment banking sector is dotted with the presence of all the global leading banking organizations. They offer world class services related to capital markets and corporate finance. They also provide services in the field of derivatives, underwriting, private and structured financing, advisory and securitisation.
vi. Payment, settlement and clearing systems: This sector provides ancillary services to the rest of the sectors by ensuring smooth clearances and quick payments. This segment comprises five main categories of payment systems which are ACDES, APCS, BECS, CECS and HVCS.
vii. Private Banking: Australia has one of the world’s largest private banking markets despite a small population. With compulsory superannuation and rising equities, the individuals hold a smaller cash component which boosts the other segments of the Australian financial services sector. The high net worth individuals of Australia are involved deeply in derivative and future trading and other forms of asset management.
viii. Venture Capital: With the increasing demand for private equity, the venture capital industry of Australia has grown significantly. This industry has also grown due to the rise of investors who view private equity as a viable investment option. The segment is well regulated with taxation laws.
ix. Retail Banking: The Retail banking sector is marked with foreign banks, mid-sized banks and large domestic banks such as ANZ, National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. This sector also comprises various non-bank financial institutions.
Regulatory Environment
The Australian financial service sector is essentially regulated by 3 agencies- Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA).
The primary function of APRA is to oversee the functioning of banks and credit unions, insurance companies, building societies and members of superannuation funds. It is the powerful regulator of the financial institutions in Australia markets and is responsible for
the prudent supervision of individual financial institution while maintaining stability in the
financial market. APRA works together with the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to set appropriate standards and to take relevant measures in case of a financial crisis (RBA, 2002).
The ASIC is responsible for making and supervising policies related to investments, superannuation and insurance. It aims at increasing investor confidence and promoting fairness in corporate affairs as well as fair disclosure of market information. The ASIC monitors compliance with the Credit Union Code of Practice and other laws such as Code of Banking Practice, Electronic Funds Transfer Code of Practice and the Building Society Code of Practice.
Finally the RBA is responsible for overall monitoring, framing monetary policies and financial stability in the industry. It works as a lender of last resort and is responsible for conducting Exchange Settlement Accounts for various participants in the payments system. The ASIC and the RBA are under a Memorandum of Understanding which details a framework for mutual co-operation with regards to licensed clearing and settlement facilities.
Current Economic and Political Climate
Australia is probably the only country that did not enter into a recession during the financial crisis. The GDP growth was 2.9% in 2016 and financial service sector remained strong.  Tax and allowance cuts of AUS 1.1 billion for innovation and entrepreneurship by the Australian Prime Minister is expected to boost business growth. To boost the economy, the interest rate was cut down to 1.5% which was expected to boost household consumption in 2016. However, the political uncertainty did not allow this to happen causing a negative impact on the financial services sector. The overseas fund managers and investors are also holding on for more political certainty (InStreet, 2013) The expectation of a fall in Australian currency has also withheld inflows of foreign funds into the financial service sector.
The Regulatory Sandbox Licensing Exemption proposed by ASIC is expected to make licensing easier (Keypointlaw.com.au. , 2017)
Changing industry and organizational expectations
As the...