Ric Battellino, a deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia, on Tuesday said the banking sector played an essential role in fulfilling the country's offshore funding needs to the economy.

Speaking at conference in Sydney, Battellino said it was "an inescapable fact that, with Australia running a current account deficit, some funding for the economy needs to come from offshore."

Battellino said banks in Australia had established a "significant role" in intermediating the flow of funds from