Greedy banks slammed by first report
AUSTRALIA’S scandalplagued banks were accused of putting profits before people and failing to meet “basic standards of honesty” yesterday as the banking royal commission’s interim report delivered a scathing assessment of the sector.
The nearly 1000-page report painted a picture of a sector defined by greed, forgiving of misconduct and flirting with illegality.
Banks, insurers and other fi- nancial houses put “the pursuit of short-term profit at the expense of basic standards of honesty”, it said after almost a year considering 10,000 submissions and hearing from more than 100 witnesses.
It details cash-stuffed envelopes being taken to pass dubious loans and fees charged to customers who had died up to a decade earlier.
“When misconduct was revealed, it either went unpunished or the consequences did not meet the seriousness of what had been done,” it said.
The commission also accused regulators of being asleep at the wheel.
“Much more often than not, when misconduct was revealed, little happened beyond apology,” it said.
Financial giants such as Commonwealth Bank, NAB, ANZ and Westpac largely avoided the shackles placed on US and European banks in the wake of the global financial crisis, which Australia sailed through largely unscathed.
The report did not make recommendations about regulatory changes but focused on the need for a culture change.
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the report was a “frank and scathing” assessment of the sector.
He vowed to take steps to “restore confidence and trust” in financial institutions but stopped short of committing to new regulation or oversight.