As an investment bank, commodities trader and operator of toll roads, Australia’s Macquarie Group has inserted itself into most of our lives. A new book outlines some of the questionable tactics that took it to the top.
Peter Martin, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
Five years ago, Australia had 28,000 financial advisers. Today there are 16,000. So where can you get financial advice? A new report offers a good answer – and it’s something I used to argue against.
On Friday the government will receive a report likely to recommend a requirement for advice in a client’s “best interests” be replaced with a requirement to give mere “good advice”.
The royal commission wanted the corporate cop to first ask ‘why not litigate?’. The treasurer’s new guidelines suggest it should instead ask ‘why not negotiate?’.
“The need for change is undeniable,” says Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, issuing a timetable for dealing with recommendations from the royal commission into banking, superannuation and financial services.
What can be best measured gets best done, even if the scorecard is “balanced”.
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The fifth banking code of conduct since 1993 looks better than those that have gone before it.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says he’ll act on the Commission’s findings. But he has already backslided on mortgage brokers and the rest of the recommendations don’t go far enough.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
People expect financial institutions to serve them better in the wake of the royal commission. There’s reason to believe they won’t, for long.
Adele Ferguson, the celebrated journalist who many credit as the driving force behind the banking royal commission, says that the commission ‘didn’t go anywhere near far enough.’
KYM SMITH/AAP
Investigative journalist Adele Ferguson on the ‘disappointing’ banking royal commission and how she works with whistleblowers.
The Conversation51.9 MB(download)
Today on Media Files, it's journalism versus the big banks. We're hearing from Adele Ferguson, the celebrated journalist who many credit as the driving force behind the banking royal commission.
APRA and ASIC will do their jobs badly without public oversight. The government hasn’t agreed it will public.
AAP
The government has agreed to create an independently-chaired body to report on the performance of ASIC and APRA, but it hasn’t said its reports will be made public.
There’s concern that paying upfront for the services of mortgage brokers would frighten customers away. But it needn’t, if they provide good service and explain what are charging for.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will deliver the 2019 budget on April 2.
LUKAS COCH/AAP
The budget will include another round of tax cuts and provide about $600 million to pursue wrongdoers and help restore trust in the financial system.
Within weeks of adopting most of the banking royal commission’s recommendations, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has backed down on one of them.
Mick Tsikas/AAP
The ASX was late to the corporate governance party and its fourth reheat remains as flawed as ever.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg with Australian Securities and Investments Commission chair James Shipton. His new powers are imperfect, but they will help.
Peter Braig/AAP
Suddenly, ASIC is about to have real power. It’ll be easier to get prosecutions and they will hurt, even if the law remains less than completely clear.