Mr ALEXANDER (Bennelong) (11:58): On behalf of the Standing Committee on Economics I present the committee's report entitled Review of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority annual report 2014 (first report), together with the minutes of proceedings, and I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report. Leave granted. Mr ALEXANDER: This report follows a hearing that took place in Canberra on the 28 November 2014 , with the Chairman and other officials of APRA , the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics is continuing its important inquiry into Australia's prudential standards for the banking, insurance and superannuation sectors through this review of APRA. It was pleasing to hear APRA's view at the public hearing last November that the Australian financial sector is demonstrating stability. APRA has reported that the authorised deposit-taking institutions—ADIs—are largely in good health and remain profitable. Residential property lending has steadily increased, and APRA has informed the committee that it is monitoring lending standards to ensure residential mortgages remain a source of growth and profitability for ADIs. The committee also notes APRA's view that the superannuation industry has made reasonable progress implementing the new prudential standards through the Stronger Super reforms. APRA has stated that it has a particular focus on reviewing the efforts of this sector to strengthen governance and risk management practices. This is appropriate and should continue to be a priority for APRA. APRA has also commented that further improvements to the management of conflicts of interest in the superannuation industry are required to meet the heightened expectations of the new prudential standards. Such improvements are to be welcomed and should remain an important part of APRA's future oversight of this industry. Some of my committee colleagues expressed strong concerns on the slow pace of reform in this area, and we will continue to monitor these developments with interest. APRA also commented that progress is being made to improve the disclosure of information around investment risks for superannuation fund members. The committee again welcomes this but we are enthusiastic about wanting to see continued improvements in this area. The committee understands that much of APRA's policy agenda in 2015 will be significantly influenced by the government's response to the Financial System Inquiry, FSI, final report. The committee looks forward to exploring the potential impact of the reforms suggested by this inquiry on APRA's future activities. On behalf of the committee, I thank the Chairman of APRA, Mr Wayne Byres, and his colleagues for appearing at the public hearing on 28 November 2014. The committee looks forward to further discussions on the issues raised in this report at its next hearing with APRA this coming Friday 20 March in Canberra. I also thank my committee colleagues, them member for Higgins in her former role as committee chair, and the secretariat for their tireless work. I commend the report to the House.