The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the global banking regulator, has named a top Australian regulator as its next secretary general.

The Basel Committee announced Thursday that it has picked Wayne Byres, an executive general manager of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, to take over as secretary general. He replaces Stefan Walter, who has served in the post since mid 2006.

Byres is currently responsible for the supervision of large complex banks in the APRA, a role he has had for the past seven years. Prior to joining APRA in 1998, he served as a senior manager in the bank supervision department at the Reserve Bank of Australia. Byres will also take over as chair of the Basel Committee’s policy development group.

Stefan Ingves, chairman of the Basel Committee and governor of Sweden’s central bank said that “given his strong supervisory experience and background in implementing Basel rules, Wayne is ideally suited to carry out the responsibilities of secretary general. The BCBS has entered a critical phase in which a deep knowledge of bank practices and prudential policies will be indispensable in helping to guide the committee as it shifts its focus to implementation of Basel III.”