Bendigo's Mike Hirst was particularly complimentary with the move by APRA to lift the risk weighting on mortgages for the majors from zero to 25 basis points, as well as adding D-SIB charges, which has led to a repricing of mortgage books - and therefore narrowing the pricing advantage held by the Big Four.  This would create a more level playing field, Hirst said. "Importantly, though, there is an incentive in the system - as there should be - for banks on standardised models to move to advanced models," he said. "We are going through that process, working with Apra to decide the best way to review our models, possibly through a process of staged accreditation, and we are hopeful that this will proceed." As BEN heads towards its advanced accreditation, the increased computing power demanded by that exercise was already beginning to pay off, said CFO Richard Fennell. The capacity to manage data and support better and more accurate decision making for business units was already evident, particularly for business lending, he said. Hirst portrayed BEN's capital position as superior to those of Australia's major banks, pointing to the Standard & Poor's RAC ratio as an "apples for apples" comparison. It shows BEN at 13.1 per cent Tier 1 capital and the Big Four sitting between 8.0 and 8.9 per cent.  "What our risk models are telling us is that the economic capital we need to hold - an internal calculation for the risks that we are taking - is about A$2 billion below our current regulatory position," Hirst said.He went on to tackle investor conjecture over the need for even more capital.  "I note even the market thinks we need to raise capital, but that isn't a conversation between us and the market. It's between us and the regulator."I'll make it really clear: we do not need to raise capital absent any significant inorganic growth opportunities."