Big nest egg or small: shouldn’t super fund trustees meet the same professional standards as individual financial planners?
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Finally, Financial System Inquiry chairman, David Murray, has brought some consistency into two hot debates running in finance. Parliament, financial media commentators and a whole range of vested interests…
Unlike America, Australia is overbanked.
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A key component of the Financial System Inquiry handed to Treasurer Joe Hockey this week was that “the financial system should be subject and responsive to market forces, including competition”. But on…
David Murray releases the Financial System Inquiry report.
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Bank competition, increased capital levels and poorly designed taxes, such as capital gains tax and negative gearing, have been singled out for reform in the final report of the Financial System Inquiry…
David Murray and Treasurer Joe Hockey have released the final report of the Financial System Inquiry.
AAP/Britta Campion
To increase the resilience of the Australian financial system the Big Four banks will be asked to carry larger capital buffers under recommendations made in the final report of the Financial System Inquiry…
Any banking system reforms must target all institutions.
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Banks borrow short and lend long. So if all of a bank’s depositors suddenly want their money, the bank would be unable to pay them. A bank may have made great loans but it can only unwind these loans slowly…
With banks pulling back on lending to small business, the sector has had to look elsewhere for funding.
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Since the global financial crisis, credit growth in Australia has returned. But while growth in home lending between 2008 and 2014 was relatively strong (0.49% per month), it was actually negative for…
Greater asset diversification would help Australian banks lock in a buffer for future downturns.
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One of the issues currently being considered by Australia’s Financial System Inquiry is the heavy exposure of Australian banks to the residential mortgage market. The exposure to domestic mortgages, which…
Superannuation shouldn’t be one size fits all.
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After a lot of un-edifying debate about particular proposals about financial advice we can now stand back and look at the sector with more calm. The fundamental problem is that it is very hard to give…
David Murray has suggested splitting of investment and retail banking.
AAP/Lukas Coch
Australia’s Financial System Inquiry chairman David Murray dropped something of a bombshell in suggesting he may recommend the separation of Australian retail banking from investment banking. The carefully…
The Global Financial Crisis showed financial markets consistently let down individuals and society.
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The recent report by the Senate Inquiry into ASIC documenting wide-ranging illegal and unethical conduct by financial advisers, is just another piece of evidence suggesting that regulation of the financial…
The focus is shifting to how Australians access their super to fund retirement.
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A good proportion of the Financial System Inquiry’s 460-page interim report is dedicated to a discussion of superannuation and, in particular, to making the financial system better at facilitating the…
The big four banks have a well-entrenched sales culture.
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Reading between the lines it appears the panel behind Australia’s wide-reaching Financial System Inquiry believes all is not well in the financial advice industry, despite last year’s implementation of…
Financial System Inquiry chair David Murray delivered the 460 page interim report at the National Press Club today.
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Charis Palmer, The Conversation e Emil Jeyaratnam, The Conversation
The last financial system inquiry held in Australia happened in 1997. More than a decade and a global financial crisis later, the sector is under scrutiny again. The inquiry delivered its interim report…
Australia’s massive superannuation sector is costly compared with its global counterparts.
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Australia’s financial system is competitive and well regulated, but more work is required to boost superannuation competition, according to the interim report of the Financial System Inquiry, led by former…
Conflicts abound in Australia’s financial system.
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At the current frequency of financial system inquiries (Campbell 1982, Wallis 1997, Murray 2014) there will not be another until 2030. That makes this week’s interim report from David Murray all the more…
The spotlight is on the David Murray’s Financial System inquiry following a report critical of the Commonwealth Bank and Australia’s corporate regulator.
AAP/Joel Carrett
The Senate inquiry in the actions of the Commonwealth Bank and the Australian Securities and Investment Commission has drawn a line in the sand, holding the banks and financial advisers to account for…
The government’s financial system inquiry should consider whether growth in the system is hampering economic growth.
AAP/Tony McDonough
Ronald Bird, University of Technology Sydney e Jack Gray, University of Technology Sydney
Governments seem to be enamoured with financial markets, judging by the support they give them around the world to encourage their growth. The assumption seems to be that there’s always a positive relationship…
The Reserve Bank’s mandate is much broader than that of prudential regulator, APRA.
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One of the major recommendations made by the 1997 Wallis Inquiry into banking was to establish a prudential regulator for the financial sector separate from the Reserve Bank of Australia. The new regulator…
All banking comes with risk, but it could be better disclosed.
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What is the interest rate on your savings account? If you don’t know, you can easily find out. Banks advertise their rates prominently. They want you to know what they’re offering. After all, the interest…
Electronic payments will eventually trump cash.
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If the Financial System Inquiry is to achieve its aim of helping to promote growth and productivity in the Australian economy it will need to focus strongly on electronic payments. Submissions to the inquiry…