BUSINESS Finance probe to roll on

THE financial services royal commission has scheduled an extra round of public hearings to consider appropriate ways to overhaul the sector.

A two- week round of hearings will now run from November 19, focusing on policy questions to have surfaced in earlier rounds.

It will be the seventh round of hearings for the year- long inquiry, led by former High Court judge Kenneth Hayne ( pictured), into misconduct in the sector.

The hearings will follow the publication of the commis- sion’s interim report, due by the end of September.

Policy proposals from the upcoming fifth and sixth rounds will be excluded from that report.

The November round of hearings will be held to probe possible policy solutions to clean up the industries, with the commission due to hand its final report to the Federal Government by February 1.

Public submissions on cases of misconduct or conduct fall- ing below community standards will also be closed in late September.

So far, the commission has received 7337 submissions.

“After submissions close on 28 September, 2018, the Commission will shift its attention from past experiences to proposals on what should be done in response to the issues raised or conduct uncovered,” the commission said.

So far, it has held hearings on consumer lending, financial advice, business lending, farming finance and the treatment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander customers.

It is poised to hold the fifth round of hearings, into the $ 2.6 trillion superannuation sector, early next month.

The seventh round, on the insurance industry, will take place mid September.

Mr Hayne’s interim report “is expected to identify a number of policy- related issues arising from the commission’s public hearings to date”, the commission said.

The royal commission has already prompted each of the major banks to start selling as- sets or overhaul divisions. Since the royal commission started probing the banking sector, National Australia Bank has announced it will carve off its wealth management division MLC.

The Commonwealth Bank has added mortgage broker Aussie Home Loans and a stake in Mortgage Choice to its list of items on the chopping block.

ANZ suspended its retail asset finance business while it ran the rule over a potential sale, while Westpac this week shut shop on its lending to selfmanaged super fund customers.