For the third or fourth time since the formation of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, in 1998, the government is having a shot at giving it the powers - mainly relating to crisis intervention - that many may assume it already holds.A consultation paper released yesterday by Treasury surveys the issues relating to the powers available to APRA in the event of a crisis and outlines proposals for extending those powers.At present, its main powers centre on the appointment of a statutory manager to a failing bank, building society of credit union (a power it has never used) or the appointment of a judicial manager to a failing insurance company (used twice for businesses already in run-off).One theme of the paper is a worry among financial regulators that the existing law does not provide sufficient power to deal with all arms of a financial conglomerate, especially those operating through a holding company structure.Another is that APRA lacks the power to direct the affairs of foreign bank branches in the event that the foreign bank is in distress.Treasury wrote in the paper that "there is a risk that APRA's existing powers may not be sufficient to enable it to intervene effectively in the event of crisis in a financial group, particularly where a company in the group is in receivership or liquidation, or where a risk of that occurring exists."The paper notes that while, at present, APRA holds the power to direct authorised holding companies, this may not be sufficient to direct the board of a subsidiary. The paper also highlights doubts over the ability of a statutory manager to ensure that related parties in a group, or third party suppliers, continue to supply essential services.Among Treasury's suggested approaches to the problem are:-- allowing a statutory manager to be appointed to a holding company and all its subsidiaries;-- extending APRA's powers to direct the affairs of holding companies and related entities;-- amending the Corporations Act to provide that any liquidator or receiver appointed over a subsidiary or holding company must cooperate with APRA.The Treasury paper also canvasses numerous other issues in detail that relate to resolution of failed institutions, some of which would give effect to previously announced policies relating to the scope of the Financial Claims Scheme.