THE big banks of Australia – the ANZ, Commonwealth, NAB and Westpac – have few mates at the moment.
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That’s not surprising considering the appalling behaviour of the financial bigwigs that has been revealed in the Royal Commission over recent months.
NAB has reaped at least $34.7 million from customer fees for services it did not provide.
A Commonwealth Bank subsidiary had financial planners charging dead clients for advice.
The ANZ forced an 81 year-old station owner off his property, despite never missing a mortgage payment, after the bank devalued his property due to the drought.
Westpac tried to evict an elderly disability pensioner from her home, as it sought to enforce security on a loan she had guaranteed.
All these examples from the Royal Commission reflect a callous culture which is further underlined by the big four’s willingness to shutdown branches in regional areas.
They sit in contrast to Border financial institutions – Hume Bank and WAW Credit Union – who have faced no such accusations and have outlets in towns that have been forsaken by their bigger brethren.
Yet despite the pitiful records of the bank titans they still have a firm friend in the NSW Treasury Corporation.
TCorp, as it promotes itself, would prefer the ANZ, Commonwealth, NAB and Westpac take up more of NSW Riverina councils’ loans at the expense of Hume and WAW.
It argues another crisis, such as the GFC, would leave councils vulnerable if they had too much money with regional banks.
This ignores the fact that Hume and WAW successfully weathered the GFC as opposed to more sizeable providers St George and BankWest that were subsumed by big banks.
Regional councils should be able to support their own institutions who in turn provide jobs and services.
TCorp needs to rethink its attitude which reeks of a Sydney-centric view of the world and damns country areas.