A core policy decision mentioned - but underplayed - was absent from APRA's milestone banking policy document of 2017.The regulator announced yesterday that, to meet the 'unquestionably strong' benchmark called for in the 2014 Financial System Inquiry, the Big Four plus Macquarie will have an extra 150 basis points added to their minimum capital requirements (and smaller banks an extra 50 bps).But guidance on risk weighting on home loans for banks was omitted.APRA's policy stand is a response to the wayward, habitual direction of Australian banking, and the lean towards macroprudential from the RBA. APRA called out the former this week for its languid byplay in the wider economy.Curbing a high-risk attitude in banking centred on recent memories of the crisis of 2008, APRA is riding in a peloton of G20 central banks, working through a checklist while responding to political opportunism and policy needs."The increased capital requirements [with a shortfall of around A$10 billion across major banks] … foreshadowed in this paper will complete a significant strengthening of risk-based capital ratios within the Australian banking system in recent years," APRA wrote. "In meeting this new requirement, for example, the four major banks will have, on average, increased their CET1 capital ratios by the equivalent of more than 250 basis points since the release of the FSI report [in 2014]. "Stronger capital ratios will undoubtedly equip the Australian banking sector to better handle periods of adversity in the future. "APRA will also continue to have regulatory and supervisory tools - both at the level of the system as a whole, and for individual ADIs - to respond to emerging risks as and when they arise," the regulator cautioned.APRA added boilerplate language to end: "Stronger capital ratios cannot, however, provide a guarantee that one or more ADIs will not encounter periods of financial stress. "In delivering a banking sector in which the Australian community can have confidence, it will always be necessary to complement a strong capital position with sound governance, risk management and internal controls within ADIs themselves, and active supervision by APRA."