The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) intends remaining in financial advice delivery notwithstanding cutting loose its aligned advisers and selling Count Financial.
CBA chief executive, Matt Comyn has made clear to a Parliamentary Committee that the bank wants to remain in the financial advice arena, despite the difficulties.
His comment came amid continuing speculation about the big banking group’s future intentions with respect to wealth management, particularly once it finally exits Colonial First State (CFS).
Giving evidence before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, Comyn acknowledged the struggle the CBA was facing in staying in advice but signalled that it intended to do so.
“We've made a number of changes as a result of reviewing our strategy and where we'd like to focus as an organisation. Specifically, we've exited life insurance. We've recently sold our asset management business. We've sold or are exiting our aligned advice businesses, which are self-employed financial advice businesses,” he said.
However, he said that the bank was retaining and continuing to provide financial advice “at this stage” and “we would like to continue to do that, notwithstanding the enormous challenges in the financial advice industry”.
“We do think it's important to be able to provide that service to customers. We worry about the unavailability of effective and safe and simple financial advice to customers over time,” Comyn said.
Asked by Labor’s Andrew Leigh whether the bank could withstand the reputational costs given past advice scandals, Comyn said CBA had made a number of changes “to make sure we’re providing a high-quality and consistent level of advice.
“It certainly is a very challenged business and industry at the moment but, as I said, even though we're exiting some elements of the advice businesses in the past—our aligned advice in particular—we're committed to retaining our current financial advice proposition,” he said.
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not going to change when all the same execs are still there from when all the rips off happen, Perkovic et al. There's a few principals that remain strong at AMP and CBA, CFS, the peter principal, and thick as thieves principal among the execs.. You only really find out how incompetent some execs are when you have a few new bloods come to stir the pot, otherwise it is just BAU.
No Matt, you don't want to stay in advice - you want to stay in sales - unfortunately you do not know the difference. You and your colleagues will do everything possible to carve out a hole as big as possible for you to run your general advice agenda through and avoid all the consumer protections that have caused you so much trouble. Stick to banking!
Spot on.
They have eliminated their competitors with FASEA, degrees, annual fee agreements, additional compliance so that they have more market share for general advice that doesn't require;
Statements of advice
clients best interest
Annual fee agreements.
The % FUM fee keeps coming in every single year and they allocate a small amount of every customers fee to pay for their general advice arm .
The products have won big time from this RC. Less competition, lower cost general advice and they still get paid a % of assets every year without FDS or opt in. They have legalised fee for no service.
they only want to stay as small, independent businesses will die.. they can then milk the system again for more profits
“We do think it's important to be able to provide that service to customers. We worry about the unavailability of effective and safe and simple financial advice to customers over time,” Comyn said.
Wow - the CBA are worried about customers. What a joke. They were not worried before Royal Commission, whistle blowers, etc. The hypocrisy beggars belief.
Like I said, while the same execs scratch each other back don’t have anyone to keep them accountable, nothing will change.
Is that why they had a 2nd round of redundancies in Commonwealth Financial Planning announced today??
Yes, very comitted to advice but no advisers left to provide it. Wind it up now. Save the customers and advisers further pain and suffering.
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