The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has told general insurers planning to raise Tier One capital to contact the regulator as part of the switch to Basel III requirements.

The authority has issued a letter to authorised deposit-taking institutions about revised capital standards for them as part of the new global banking regulatory framework.

General insurers will have to abide by Basel III due to the framework covering capital raisings.

While the new interim arrangements for Tier One capital generally don’t apply to general insurers at this stage, APRA says they should contact it “to discuss relevant eligibility criteria and transition arrangements” if they are planning a capital-raising.

“Any translation of relevant aspects of Basel III into quality of capital requirements for general insurers will be the subject of industry consultation and will be considered in the context of APRA’s current review of the life and general insurance capital standards,” the letter says.

“APRA will continue to provide general insurers with any additional information on further developments as part of its consultation on the capital review.”