ZCZC
BCN-02
AUSTRALIA-ECONOMY-BANKING
Australia banks admit failings ahead of crunch inquiry report
SYDNEY, Feb 4, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Australian banks admitted to failing
customers and vowed to “reset” their industry, as they braced for the release
of a crunch report Monday into financial abuses in the sector.
Mired in scandals, the wealthy lenders have sought to regain favour with
the public and politicians as the year-long Royal Commission exposed repeated
misconduct and poor treatment of customers.
“Banks know they have failed their customers and not lived up to the high
standards Australians rightly expect of the industry,” Australian Banking
Association chief executive Anna Bligh said in a statement Monday.
“We do know this an opportunity to reset the industry and to make things
better for our customers.”
Share prices for Australia’s “big four” banks have slid in recent days on
fears the report’s recommendations, if fully adopted, could impose onerous
compliance requirements that crimp bank earnings.
The inquiry’s interim report in September slammed banks and their
executives for their greed and for failing to meet “basic standards of
honesty”.
The final report is expected to go further, potentially recommending wide-
ranging legislative and regulatory changes, a crackdown on incentives and pay
packages, and criminal charges against senior executives and banks.
The recommendations are not binding on the government but public fury will
likely see many or all of them adopted.
Banks have already started to address some of the issues raised, such as
spinning off their financial advisory arms from their main activities to
avoid conflicts of interest.
BSS/AFP/HR/0925