Levy on major banks should be higher
Any levy on the major banks and Macquarie should be applied by the Commonwealth Government and at a higher rate, ME Bank believes.
The industry superannuation fund owned bank said it agreed with the South Australian Government that the banks that benefited from an implicit guarantee were accruing a benefit materially greater than the current levy, and therefore should pay more.
ME Bank chief executive, Jamie McPhee, said: “The major banks receive a 20 to 30 basis point benefit from Australian taxpayers for being ‘too big to fail’, giving them significant competitive advantages over smaller banks, making Australia’s banking system more concentrated, increasing risk, eroding competition, and reducing customer choice”.
“A highly competitive banking industry over the long-term is in the long-term interests of Australian consumers as is an unquestionably strong banking system, both principles for which ME will continue to advocate,” he said.
Recommended for you
The FSCP has announced its latest verdict, suspending an adviser’s registration for failing to comply with his obligations when providing advice to three clients.
Having sold Madison to Infocus earlier this year, Clime has now set up a new financial advice licensee with eight advisers.
With licensees such as Insignia looking to AI for advice efficiencies, they are being urged to write clear AI policies as soon as possible to prevent a “Wild West” of providers being used by their practices.
Iress has revealed the number of clients per adviser that top advice firms serve, as well as how many client meetings they conduct each week.