MEDIA RELEASE

ABA welcomes focus on certainty and stability

Sydney, 8 September, 2013: The Australian Bankers Association (ABA) welcomes the incoming Government and its commitment to delivering greater certainty and stability.
The ABA particularly supports the incoming Abbott Governments election commitment that there will be a moratorium1 on new financial services regulation while the major inquiry into the financial system is underway. Steven Mnchenberg, Chief Executive of the ABA, said: The financial services industry has faced a raft of new regulation since the Global Financial Crisis (GFC), driven by Governments here and overseas. Some of this has been well thought through, and some not. Either way, the pace of new regulation has been incredible and has required constant change to bank systems and staff training. This has been costly and difficult for all banks, but it particularly affects smaller banks with fewer resources to manage the changes. Mr Mnchenberg said the banking industry is preparing for the major inquiry into the financial system, a long standing Coalition commitment. Our financial system has served Australia well over the last few years, but we must ensure that continues. We would want to see any inquiry as a forward-looking exercise, focussing on what sort of financial system we need to best serve the needs of the Australian people and the economy in coming years, what we need to do to achieve that and what might be the challenges. The inquiry must focus on ensuring we have a banking system that meets the needs of household and business customers, shareholders, employees and the broader community. Meeting the needs of customers, including families and small businesses, must be central. There will be a number of critical issues for the inquiry, including looking at the impact of regulation on the stability of the system, testing claims about levels of competition, ensuring the banking system can continue to fund the economy and examining the role rapid technological change is going to play. The inquiry should also revisit the need for a Financial Stability Fund and levy, announced by the previous Government. At a time when we want to encourage Australians to save for their retirement and banks to increase their deposit funding, we do not need a new tax on deposits. We would also like to acknowledge the Labor Government and its willingness to work with the industry, particularly through the financial crisis. We look forward to continuing that constructive relationship.

For further information:

Heather Wellard, ABA PR, Phone: 02 8298 0411, Mobile: 0409 830 439
ENDS

@austbankers

Coalitions Policy to Boost Productivity and Reduce Regulation (July 8) which noted measures that a Coalition government will undertake to deregulate the economy include: Undertaking a moratorium of significant new regulation for the financial sector See link: http://www.liberal.org.au/latest-news/2013/07/08/coalitions-policy-boost-productivity-and-reduce-regulation