Australia’s Central Bank Bans RBC Capital Markets from Briefings

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s central bank has imposed a ban on Canada’s RBC Capital Markets from confidential briefings following a leak from a private meeting.

This marks the second leak incident involving the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which faced criticism last year over Governor Philip Lowe’s private briefing to traders hosted by Barrenjoey Capital Partners. This occurred after the RBA’s unexpected hawkish stance on interest rates.

In February, RBA Assistant Governor Christopher Kent met with economists and trading clients of RBC Capital Markets after the RBA maintained a cash rate of 4.35%. Post-meeting, details shared with an external associate led to RBC’s acknowledgment of the breach, prompting the RBA to impose a 12-month ban on RBC.

Both the RBA and RBC Capital Markets declined to comment on the situation. This story was originally reported by the Australian Financial Review.

Michele Bullock has succeeded Lowe as RBA governor since last September, while Lowe recently joined the Barrenjoey board.

Australia’s Treasurer Jim Chalmers noted that it is not the government’s role to oversee agreements between the RBA and commercial banks but expressed concern over possible breaches of confidentiality, emphasizing the need for the bank to evaluate the conduct of such briefings.