Banking Regulation

Here we go again - another bank switching package from Wayne Swan. Has Swan got it right this time? Well, yes and no.

There’s no doubt that Wayne Swan’s recent announcement that bank customers will be allowed to sign a single form to switch banks is well overdue. In reality, Swan could and should have pursued the “one form” approach back in 2008 as we all suspected that bank switching can be as simple as filling in just one form.

Should we be excited about Swan’s latest bank switching package? Well, not just yet. Any excitement needs to be tempered by doubts as to whether the latest reforms are to be extended to small business customers.

Continue reading "The itch to switch is still not easily scratched" »

As the public anger against the four big banks continues, we wait with an air of expectation for Wayne Swan’s latest bank “reform” package to be announced.

This is not Swan’s first “reform” package. He announced one before and while some may have been excited about that earlier package, any excitement quickly faded as that package fizzled and the four big banks continued to thumb their nose at the Federal Treasurer.

Until independent competition and the conditions that allow independent competition to flourish are restored, consumers will continue to be gouged by the four big banks. Here’s a 12 point plan that might help provide a coordinated and targeted approach to the restoration of independent competition.

Continue reading "12 things Wayne Swan can do to tackle the Big 4 banks" »

$6.4 billion in profit: Westpac Bank. $5.7 billion in profit: Commonwealth Bank. $4.2 billion in profit: the NAB. And $4.5 billion dollars in profit: the ANZ bank.

That is $21 billion in profit made by the big four banks on the back of the worst global recession the world has seen since the Great Depression. $21 billion in profit made while the government continues to provide some guarantees to the banks first provided during the global financial crisis.

The Greens believe enough is enough.

Continue reading "The major parties haven’t done enough on banks" »