Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg says the government should ask the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to examine whether capital rules imposed on banks are restricting economic growth and making it harder for first home buyers to get into the market.

A day after ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott questioned whether the banking sector’s regulatory settings favoured “safety over growth and dynamism” and suggested tweaking responsible lending rules, definitions and guidelines, Bragg told the Sydney Institute on Tuesday night that APRA should be asked to “consider the impact of capital adequacy provisions on the economy”, as the other overseas prudential regulators are, including the Monetary Authority of Singapore.