Financial inquiry 'must be broad'
The bank's institutional boss, Rob Whitfield, said the inquiry should examine deep-seated shifts taking place in finance, rather than pursue narrow agendas.
While Mr Hockey first called for the inquiry several years ago, against a backdrop of growing concerns about competition in banking, Mr Whitfield said it must also broach issues including taxation, infrastructure, superannuation and insurance.
"What we don't want to see is a really narrow-based inquiry," Mr Whitfield said at a Financial Services Institute of Australasia conference in Sydney.
"We don't want to just restrict it to competition. We want to see the benefit of what has been a really strong financial system that has thrived through the GFC and a really strong banking system that has thrived through the GFC."
The big four banks have consolidated their market share in the past five years, controlling more than 80 per cent of all deposits and home loans.
Given this shift, customer-owned lenders are pressing for competition to be high on the agenda at the inquiry - for which Mr Hockey has not yet set terms of reference.
Bankmecu chief executive Damien Walsh said a key issue to be addressed was the tax treatment of deposits, which are taxed more heavily than shares and other asset classes.
NAB's executive general manger of capital markets, Steve Lambert, said he hoped the inquiry was of similar standard to the Campbell review, which sparked a wave of reforms in 1980s including the liberalisation of the financial system.
Frequently Asked Questions about this Article…
Joe Hockey first called for a broad financial system inquiry several years ago amid concerns about competition in banking. According to the article, he has not yet set the inquiry's terms of reference.
Westpac’s institutional head Rob Whitfield argues the inquiry should take a broader view, examining deep‑seated shifts in finance and the factors that helped Australia weather the global financial crisis — not restrict the investigation solely to competition issues.
The article says the inquiry should also broach issues such as taxation, infrastructure, superannuation and insurance, reflecting views expressed by Westpac’s Rob Whitfield.
The article notes the big four banks have consolidated market share over the past five years and now control more than 80% of all deposits and home loans. That high level of concentration is prompting customer‑owned lenders to press for competition to be a high priority in the inquiry.
Customer‑owned lenders want competition to be high on the inquiry’s agenda. Bankmecu chief executive Damien Walsh specifically highlights the tax treatment of deposits — saying deposits are taxed more heavily than shares and other asset classes — as a key issue to address.
The article cites Bankmecu’s Damien Walsh saying deposits are taxed more heavily than shares and some other asset classes, suggesting the inquiry should examine whether current tax treatment affects savers and competition in deposit markets.
NAB’s Steve Lambert says he hopes the inquiry matches the standard of the Campbell review, which in the 1980s sparked a wave of reforms — including liberalisation of the financial system — implying the current inquiry could also lead to significant policy changes.
A broad inquiry that examines competition, taxation, superannuation, insurance and infrastructure could influence bank pricing, product choice and regulation. The article suggests the goal is to understand what has kept Australia’s financial system resilient and whether changes could improve outcomes for customers and savers.
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