BNK Bank blames core system for stats delay

BNK Bank, a recently rebranded regional credit union, has blamed a "technical issue" with its core banking system for being unable to generate regulatory reports on time.

The bank, which formerly operated as Goldfields Money, said in an ASX filing [pdf] that it had agreed to pay a $247,500 penalty to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) over the incident.

Among its roles, APRA is the "national statistical agency for the financial sector".

It collects data from all authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) that is used to "compile key macroeconomic indicators for Australia, for analysis and policy purposes by economic policymakers, and to meet Australia’s international reporting obligations", according to documentation for the scheme.

BNK Bank said it had been unable to extract data into the required reportable format in February this year due to the core banking issue.

"BNK regrets that a technical issue with its core banking platform prevented it from generating the internal information needed for APRA’s monthly ADI statistics on time," CEO Allan Savins said in a statement.

“This meant BNK was delayed in submitting its February 2023 reporting forms to APRA.

“We informed APRA as soon as we became aware of the issue in February and dedicated substantial resources to resolve the issue and submit the outstanding reporting forms.

"BNK has met all of its reporting obligations for subsequent months.”

The bank received 18 infringement notices from APRA for the overdue submission of the reporting forms. 

APRA member Therese McCarthy Hockey said there was an expectation that all entities are “compliant with our reporting standards to ensure APRA always has the most up-to-date information on the industries we regulate.”

“Access to accurate and timely data is critical for APRA to effectively monitor the safety and stability of Australia’s banking, insurance and superannuation systems," McCarthy Hockey said.

BNK will have until August to pay the penalty.

Savins said the incident was “extremely unfortunate” but assured “APRA and other stakeholders that rectification work [on the core] is now complete.”