Category: Banking Culture

Rest In Peace ASIC: 3rd February 2023!

Following on the amazing news from last week that John Adams and In the Interests of the People, didn’t just get one inquiry into ASIC, but two – we have new news!

One inquiry will be held by the Senate Economics References Committee – this inquiry was established by a 43-20 vote of the Australian Senate.

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/ASICinvestigation

The other inquiry will be held to the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Corporations_and_Financial_Services/ASICallegedmisconduct

Yesterday, 2 November 2022, the Senate Economics References Committee officially called for public submissions. The deadline submissions are 3 February 2023 – which is 3 months from now.

For all those people across Australia who have had significantly difficult experiences with ASIC, this is your opportunity to share your stories with the inquiry.

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Economics/ASICinvestigation/Terms_of_Reference

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/How_to_make_a_submission

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

Simple Simon Exposes Worsening Disaster!

In the past week, Adams has published a new 25-page supplementary report examining ASIC’s FY 21-22 performance. Yesterday, this was sent to over 30 federal parliamentarians for their review.

ASIC’s FY 21-22 performance data is the worse in 11 years. The new supplementary report demonstrates the importance of why a stand-alone parliamentary inquiry is required.

There are major problems at ASIC and stakeholders across the country need to have their voices heard be being able to put their case forward to Parliament. The normal oversight hearings only allow ASIC to provide a one-sided distorted picture.

Adams will be going to Federal Parliament tomorrow to do the rounds and find what the sentiment is. It is imperative that the audience and the community at large become aware of what is happening with Australia’s police force and ensure that Parliament is aware of your stories.

We need to give Federal Parliament a push in order to get an inquiry up and going.

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

Wither Rates Now? With Steve Mickenbecker

I discuss the latest rate moves with Steve from Canstar.

Steve Mickenbecker is in Canstar’s Group Executive Team, bringing more than 30 years of experience in the Australian financial services industry. As a financial commentator for Canstar, Steve enjoys sharing his expertise across topics such as home loans, superannuation, insurance, mortgages, banking, credit cards, investment, budgeting, money management and more.

https://www.canstar.com.au/team-members/steve-mickenbecker/

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

The Bombshell Adams Report

Today, Adams has officially released his independent 71-page independent ADAMS REPORT into ASIC’s handling of reports of misconduct.

This is something we have been building towards in the past few shows and now it is official.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-10-06/corporate-watchdog-asic-investigates-less-than-1-per-cent-of-com/101498608

https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/other-industries/asic-slammed-for-investigating-just-1-per-cent-of-alleged-breaches-according-to-new-report/news-story/18478b55984ae852b3d9ce6d4d4e7afb

https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members

Adams burned the midnight oil last weekend finalising the report. On Monday, Adams sent the embargoed copy of the report to 20 mainstream media organisations with the original source documents and an excel spreadsheet with all of the calculations utilised in the ADAMS REPORT.

Adams wanted to give the mainstream media 3 full days in which they could read the Adams report and verify the data, the calculations, the analysis and the claims. In much of what IOTP does relative to the mainstream media, we do the heavy lifting and back-up of analysis with original scholarship and insight.

In the past 24 hours, Adams has sent his report and official letters to over 30 Federal Parliamentarians including all the members of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services as well as Senate Economics References Committee.

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

More Government Dirty Tricks In Support Of The Big Banks!

In the ultimate dodgy trick, the final report in to the Taskforce into Regional Banking was snuck out at 4.52pm on Friday evening by the Albanese Government despite the report being a Coalition document overseen by two shadow ministers (Michael Sukkar and Perin Davey) whose current portfolios have nothing to do with treasury, finance, business or regional Australia.

As predicted by The Regional when this taskforce was set up, the final report contains nothing that will save a single bank, with the executive summary’s admission that it received more than 400 submissions “on ways of maintaining and improving banking services” illustrating that the entire exercise was, as the Financial Sector Union described it in 2021, just a “cruel stunt”.

https://www.theregional.com.au/post/regional-banking-taskforce-s-botch-job-is-no-laughing-matter

https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN4244

Regional Australia is down to just 1011 major banks – a figure the taskforce was in possession of, or close to it, but chose not to reveal in preference to a much broader and rosier number provided by APRA, possibly due to an undeclared conflict of interest by Senator Davey.

A new inquiry would hopefully give regional Australians a fair go at saving their last banks and even, hopefully, getting some new ones.

The petition – EN4244 – closes on Wednesday night (October 6, 12.59am) (Sydney).

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

The Banks Are The Aggressors In The War On Cash!

Dale Webster from The Regional And Robbie Barwick from the Citizens Party discuss the war on cash with me , and specifically the removal of branch and cash infrastructure, especially in regional areas.

https://www.theregional.com.au/post/bank-petition-chance-to-send-a-strong-message-to-canberra

The Regional is an independent news service for 37 per cent of Australia’s population (and growing)!

Dale has been tracking regional bank closures, despite the amount of cash still in use (and rising). Banks are casting a dangerous shadow.

But now there is a Petition EN4244 – Moratorium on regional bank closures and new inquiry in front of Parliament, and we have about 10 days to send a formal message to the Australian Parliament Petition. It closes on 6th October 2022.

https://www.aph.gov.au/e-petitions/petition/EN4244

Petition Reason

Private research shows regional Australia has lost 62 per cent of its banks since 1975, leaving just 1062 located mainly in clusters in larger centres. The number of towns and cities with a bank has shrunk from 1226 to 386: 575 towns that once had one or more major banks now have no form of bank at all. Another 146 towns are on the brink of complete loss of banking services, with just one major bank open. Last year, regional Australia lost 113 “big four” bank branches. Locations included 45 towns that were stripped of their last/only bank. Of these, 23 did not have a minor corporate, mutual or franchise bank to fall back on. If a similar 10 per cent cut to the branch network is made this year, 100 more branches will be lost in the next seven months: 50 towns will lose their last bank. This issue has not been looked at properly for 17 years. The Morrison Government set up a “taskforce into regional banking” as a pre-election stunt but only put representatives of the banking industry and its own politicians on it. Just one public meeting was held. Findings have not yet been delivered.

Petition Request

We therefore ask the House to impose an immediate moratorium on regional bank closures, launch a new inquiry to pick up from where Money too Far Away (1999) and Money Matters in the Bush (2004) left matters and pulp any reports that come from the coalition’s taskforce.

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

Hardship Is Now On Your Credit File…

Recent changes in the rules has led banks to start reporting hardship arrangements on customers credit files. They will remain on file for a year beyond the end of the arrangement. This may have implications for some borrowers as they seek to restructure their mortgages in the current rising rate environment.

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

Kiwi Bank Sold To Kiwi’s … Again!

I recently discussed the creation of Kiwi Bank, a National Bank In New Zealand with one of its architects Hon Matt Robson. Kiwibank was set up 20 years ago at the behest of the late left-wing politician Jim Anderton, who believed the country should have its own national bank.

It now has more than a million customers but remains a minnow compared to its big four Australian rivals, ASB, BNZ, ANZ and Westpac. Home loans are Kiwibank’s biggest business where it has a market share of 6.5% to 7%. It doesn’t have the skill or capacity to handle accounts for larger businesses, the Government or the agri sector. It has a 2% to 4% share of the business market, which is mostly home loans secured against a business owner’s residence. Kiwibank recently posted a record profit, but it was still less than one tenth of the ASB profit posted just a few days earlier.

Now its just been announced By The Minister of Finance Grant Robertson, that the Government is borrowing $2.1 billion to buy Kiwibank’s parent company to keep the bank in Kiwi ownership after two of its existing Crown-owned shareholders wanted out. The Crown will take over Kiwi Group Holdings, which owns Kiwibank and NZ Home Loans, under an agreement which allowed the shareholders to sell their shares to each other or the Crown from October 31 last year. ACC, which owned 25%, and NZ Post, which owned 53%, wanted to exit their investments.

The NZ Super Fund, which owned the remaining 22%, was interested in buying some or all of NZ Post’s stake but wanted the flexibility to bring in private capital and have the option to sell to private investors in the future, which the Government rejected as it wanted to ensure Kiwi ownership. T

he Government said it did so to make sure Kiwibank remains fully New Zealand owned. The move thwarts any attempt by the NZ Super Fund to acquire all of the bank and then restructure it.

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

Growing Mortgage Pain Has Consequences As Forced Sales Rise…

We look at the issue of forced sales, as mortgage rates, plus refinancing strategies, and risks. The number of mortgagee sales is rising, according to recent data, but is this the full story?

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/

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Get Behind This Economic Solution…

I am joined by Robbie Barwick from the Australian Citizens Party to discuss a critical policy area, ahead of the new Parliament sitting next week. We want to make sure the politicians are aware of the benefits of a National Postal Bank, and how you can help to raise that awareness.

Flyer: https://citizensparty.org.au/sites/default/files/2022-06/flyer-australia-needs-a-public-post-office-bank-citizens-party-june-22.pdf

MP contact details: https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members

Go to the Walk The World Universe at https://walktheworld.com.au/