The Australian Banking Association says ‘nearly 80% of bank profits go straight back to shareholders’, the majority of whom are ‘everyday Australians’. Is that right?
Commonwealth Bank chair Catherine Livingstone (left) and CEO Ian Narev.
AAP
Parliamentary hearings reveal a lot of confusion between government, regulators and industry around banking regulation. This needs to be fixed.
Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer says the bank’s move towards gender equality in management positions is a “signpost that our nation is making progress”.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
Westpac’s focus on the bottom line benefits of gender diversity overlook the fact that equality is a political imperative, not a corporate one.
There are signs our frothy housing market, combined with rising interest rates, could have serious consequences for our economy.
Nick Vidal-Hall/Flickr
The Victorian budget brought with it an increase in privatisation, which follows on from other state budgets, but the evidence for efficiency in this type of system isn’t there.
The news last week that Australia’s oldest bank, Westpac, has withdrawn from any prospect of financing Adani’s Carmichael coal mine may well be the death knell for the controversial project. Westpac is…
ASIC found that CommInsure didn’t breach the law with its handling of claims.
Dave Hunt/AAP
ASIC is telling CommInsure to do what it should have been doing all along. Let’s forget the past and mistreatment of customers, it’s paradise for firms that prey on the sick and dying.
There are mixed results in research when it comes to the effect of shaming people into good behaviour.
Lukas Coch/AAP
The banks could have used their collective bargaining power not only against Apple for Apple Pay but also stall the adoption of mobile payments in Australia.
Banking inquiries in their current form serve as political theatre, rather than as a genuine form of accountability.
Lukas Coch/AAP
Members of House Standing Committee on Economics should be asking the directors of Australia’s Big Four banks (not the CEOs) different questions, if they really want the right answers.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Ian Narev attends the parliamentary inquiry into the banking system.
AAP Image/Lukas Coch
Business Briefing: fixing culture in banking and finance
The Conversation19.7 MB(download)
"Banking culture" has drawn a lot of scrutiny this year, after several high-profile scandals. But Professor Paul Kofman says there isn't much evidence for how to intervene if there's a problem.
ASIC has been highly critical of some of the practices of Australia’s big four banks.
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An ASIC report detailing how financial advice was paid for but not given by Australia’s big four banks exposes a culture problem that the government needs to deal with.
ASIC chairman Greg Medcraft could learn a thing or two from his US counterparts.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
ASIC has been too slow to prosecute those accused of rigging the bank bill swap rate so it doesn’t matter if the government makes the penalties harsher for those found guilty.
Commonwealth Bank chief Ian Narev was the first to appear before a parliamentary committee inquiring into the practices of the big four banks.
Lukas Coch/AAP