Banking self-regulation not enough: Labor
The interim report is scathing of a culture of greed. Photo: AAP
Self-regulation within the financial sector isn’t enough to stop the horrors unveiled from the banking royal commission, Labor says.
Labor lashed out at comments made by new assistant treasurer Stuart Robert, who has spruiked for self-regulation in the industry rather than it being hit with “the dead weight of government”.
Further financial scandals were “inevitable”, he told The Australian on Tuesday.
The former Turnbull government minister believes “sensible” policies to drive cultural change within the financial sector are essential to preventing scandals uncovered from the royal commission.
The banking royal commission has revealed banks charged fees to dead customers, lenders handed out loans to those who could not afford them, and consumers were hit with fees for services they did not receive.
Barristers assisting the banking royal commission said last week NAB and the Commonwealth Bank may have committed civil, and possibly criminal, offences.
Labor’s financial services spokeswoman Clare O’Neil said self-regulation within the industry had “comprehensively failed” to protect those who came forward to the commission.
“The royal commission has exposed appalling rorts and rip offs across the entire financial services sector,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.
“This kind of conduct must be stamped out immediately.”
The commission has set a September 28 deadline for the public to share stories about their experiences in the banking, superannuation and financial services industries.
Banking royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne QC will submit an interim report by September 30, and appears on track to complete the final report by February 1 next year.
-AAP