Banks inquiry turns explosive

THE first day of a powerful judicial inquiry into Australia’s scandal-ridden banking sector yesterday heard National Australia Bank issued almost $19 billion (R224bn) in home loans under a scheme involving falsified documents. It was the first bombshell of what promises to be an explosive year-long inquiry into the financial sector and especially the “Big Four” banks, which dominate the country’s $1.36 trillion mortgage market. Rowena Orr, a barrister assisting the Royal Commission inquiry in Melbourne, said NAB had derived more than $18.9bn in home loans from the scheme between 2013 and 2016, when the misconduct took place. “The introducer programme was extremely profitable for NAB during the period where misconduct occurred,” Orr said, adding that it had involved about 60 bankers and branch managers and unsuitable loans to more than 2 300 customers. – Reuters