The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) yesterday released its latest FOI Disclosure Log, which estimated that Australian taxpayers provided the major banks with between $1.9 billion and $3.8 billion of implicit support in 2013:
The credit ratings of Australian banks do benefit to some extent from rating agencies’ perceptions that the Government would support them if they got into trouble. The major banks and Macquarie receive a two notch credit rating uplift from S&P as a result of the rating agency’s expectation that these banks will receive support from the government in a crisis. Other Australian banks do not receive any rating uplift, as S&P does not expect government support…
