ABA slams Labor’s ‘re-hashed’ terms of reference
The Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) has accused Labor of re-hashing its terms of reference for a royal commission into the banking sector from its own Parliamentary Joint Committee (PJC) report on corporations and financial services.
The ABA also accused Labor "regurgitating" the PJC report and creating terms of reference that were ambiguous and open-ended.
"The rest of the PJC didn't agree with Labor's terms and found no evidence that demonstrates that there was widespread or systematic illegal behaviour by banks," the ABA said.
The Federal Opposition leader, Bill Shorten, outlined six terms of reference for the royal commission in a letter to Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. This included investigations into illegal and unethical behaviour in the financial services industry, how institutions treated their duty of care to clients, how ethical standards and culture influenced institutions, and whether regulators were capable of spotting and preventing illegal and unethical behaviour.
While rebuking Shorten's terms of reference, ABA chief executive, Steven Münchenberg, acknowledged the sector had been plagued with issues, but said it was working to repair the industry through the reform packages released in April.
"An independent review is being conducted by a former Australian Public Service Commissioner into how bank staff are paid," he said.
"Banks are also addressing community concerns about bad apples moving around the industry, the handling of customer complaints and the treatment of whistleblowers."
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Malavika Santhebennur
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