A consortium headed by the University of New South Wales has won the tender for a $41 million Centre for International Finance and Regulation.

 

Plans for the Centre were announced in May last year. The Federal Government has committed $12.1 million over four years to establish the Centre, with the NSW Government providing an additional $6 million. A further $6 million has come from corporate sources and universities. The Centre will also receive $17.5 million of in-kind support from partner institutions including New York University, and further funding is expected to be provided as the Centre develops.

 

The Centre is expected to begin operation early next year.

 

The Centre will:

  • Provide tertiary education and training for financial regulators from Australia and the Asia Pacific region;
  • Undertake research into innovation in the financial sector;
  • Undertake research into developments in the financial sector globally, including in relation to prudent decision making and governance in financial markets, and to ensuring markets develop in a way that reduces inherent system risk;
  • Undertake research into best practice financial regulation; and
  • Enhance regional financial system stability and regional links.

John Trowbridge, until recently an executive member of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, has been appointed interim director.

 

Foundation partners are:

 

  • Six leading Australian universities, each with prestigious international research reputations in finance, law and economics – UNSW; the University of Sydney; Macquarie University; University of Technology, Sydney; the University of Melbourne; and the Australian National University
  • Two Sydney-based, internationally distinguished capital markets research and development centres – the Capital Markets Cooperative Research Centre and the Securities Industry Research Centre of Asia-Pacific
  • Two of the leading finance research centres in the world, NYU’s Salomon Centre and Volatility Institute, and UCLA’s Fink Centre – through these institutions the Centre will have an active collaboration with three Nobel Laureates
  • Industry participants that have already committed to support the Centre include the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Macquarie Group and KPMG