ASIC says bank culture a ‘major problem’

The Australian 4:31pm September 12, 2017

Prashant Mehra

 Houston we have a problem!!!   Consumers are figuring out they have been swindled by Major Banks.  LIAR LOANS means the LENDERS ARE THE LIARS.  They then commission FAKE SURVEYS to blame the customers for the ROBO APPROVED toxic loans riddled with fraud.  Seriously????

The corporate regulator has again slammed the big banks, saying there are major problems with their culture and conduct that are yet to be addressed. Australian Securities and Investments Commission Chairman Greg Medcraft said he is not scared of taking on the major banks, and highlighted the need for individual accountability and bigger penalties for white collar crimes. “There is still a major problem with culture, conduct and accountability at the major banks,” Mr Medcraft told a Reuters Newsmaker event in Sydney. “I think the big banks are extremely powerful in this country. “I think they are not used to being taken on.” ASIC last month opened up an investigation into the alleged breach of money laundering and terrorism financing laws by Commonwealth Bank, and whether it had breached the Corporations Act.

The move, soon followed by other regulators, came after Australia’s financial intelligence agency AUSTRAC took CBA to court, accusing Australia’s largest bank of failing to provide on-time reports for more than 53,500 transactions. ASIC also has an ongoing court case against three other major banks — ANZ, Westpac and National Australia Bank — after failing to reach a settlement over allegations of benchmark interest rate rigging.

Mr Medcraft, who is due to retire in November, said addressing the issues of bank culture and accountability would remain unfinished business when his term ends, but emphasised his efforts to take on the sector.

“When I became chairman I decided we needed to build a war chest to take on big cases,” he said.

“We have got so many cases against the banks but there’s still work to be done in law enforcement.” He flagged the issue of variable mortgage pricing by banks, where rates are increased for existing borrowers but reduced for new borrowers, as an example of bad practices at Australian banks.

“Basically it really just feeds on inertia and I think that is, frankly wrong, and I do think it feeds in to that lack of trust,” he said.

“I have said to the banks before, the sooner you get it the better, because you’re only hurting yourselves longer term.” When asked how long the CBA investigation would take, Mr Medcraft said that would depend on the level of co-operation ASIC gets from the bank.