The House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics has announced it has called on senior representatives from ANZ, CBA, NAB and and Westpac to appear before a public hearing to face questioning.
The committee is expected to examine how the big four banks are “balancing the interests of a diverse set of stakeholders” — that is, borrowers, depositors, shareholders and the wider community.
Specifically, the terms of reference has stated the banks will be questioned on:
- The setting of interest rates on deposit and loan products, including the influence of competition, profit margins and developments in bank funding
- The financial position of borrowers, including their experience in relation to the interest rate environment and inflation
- The fair treatment of bank customers, including the operation of dispute resolution and remediation processes
- The ongoing implementation of recommendations of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry that are relevant to the banking sector
- The role of banks in supporting the flow of credit, including to small businesses
- Banks’ operational performance, including online service outages and cyber security resilience
- How banks are responding to the risks and opportunities of climate change, and how the banking sector can support Australia’s progress toward climate and other sustainability-related goals
- Actions being taken by banks to protect customers from scams, including on scam prevention, detection and response, and how these compare to actions overseas.
Committee chair Dr Daniel Mulino MP, said the hearings would hold the banks to account for their shortcomings, including those exposed by the banking royal commission.
“The Financial Services (Hayne) Royal Commission, which reported in 2019, showed that far too often the banks did not live up to the trust that Australians placed in them,” he said.
“…And when it comes to scams, with evidence showing that Australians lost more than $2 billion to scams in 2021, a record amount, we need to hear what extra consumer protection the banks are planning.”
Separate to the parliamentary committee hearing, the banks are also expected to face scrutiny by a parallel inquiry into competition to be held by the Economics Standing Committee.
The competition inquiry aims to promote “economic dynamism, competition, and business formation”, examining “how healthy competition can enhance the wellbeing of Australians”.
