Wayne Byres, chair of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), has announced he will step down at the end of October after eight years.
Byres joined the regulator in 2014 for a five-year term before being elected for a second term in July 2019 for another five years.
He was also the regulator’s representative of the Payments System Board, the Council of Financial Regulators, the Trans-Tasman Council on Banking Supervision, the Basel Committee and its oversight body, the Governors and Heads of Supervision.
In a statement, Byres said: “Being chair of APRA has been an honour and a privilege. I’ve enjoyed the past eight years immensely, and I’m pleased with what has been achieved by APRA in that time. 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.”
“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. It has been a difficult decision to make, as there is much about APRA I will miss, but after eight years as chair I believe the time is right. I have every confidence the organisation will continue to do great things for the Australian community.”
