Comment: Re-merger of APRA and the RBA one option

From the big bank view a reunification of APRA and the Reserve Bank of Australia might be an agency for the much-wanted dispensation from the Basel norm.

Only the Australian Bankers Association has really floated this possibility, which the Murray inquiry - with few other meaningful matters to work on - might support.

David Murray spoke out last week to question the suitability of European banking rules for the Australian system.

This is code for less stringent capital ratios and higher leverage, a business model that may be superior - and helpful to the national economy - if it's as reliable or more reliable than the more capital intensive model.

With Wayne Byres returning from Basel to run APRA it's hard to see banks making much headway on this one, however supportive Murray's team might be.