Weekly Update: 20 September 2024

Highlights this week:

• In the Media: Inside the plan to rescue cash: Smart ATMs and keeping it off the road.
• Announcement: ING Australia CEO Melanie Evans was appointed as Deputy Chair of the ABA Council.
• Key Data: US Federal Reservecuts interest rate by 50 basis points.

Quote of the week:
“I recently announced a reset for the consumer data right. It is a good idea, executed badly by our predecessors. The compliance costs have been high. And the consumer uptake is low. The government believes in the right of consumers to access and unlock the value of their data. But we need to do things differently to justify the substantial public and private investment in the CDR. Key to this is reducing costs.”

– Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones MP. Address to Intersekt FinTech Festival, 18 September 2024.

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Media & Communications Update:

• The ABA provided comments to The Australian on the support banks can provide to young people facing financial stress, saying: “Every single week banks help thousands of Australians in financial trouble with a range of practical tools including restructuring loans to lower repayments, moving people to interest only arrangements or potentially deferring payments for a period”.
• The ABA’s six-week Scam Awareness Campaign is concluding today. The campaign has exceeded expectations, reaching over 10 million Australians across a range of channels.

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Policy Update:

• The ABA Council met in Melbourne on Wednesday and appointed Melanie Evans as the new Deputy Chair of the ABA Council.

• ABA Policy Teams met with:
  • Sympli
  • Titles QLD regarding their review into Interoperability
  • The National Farmers Federation.
• The ABA Policy Team attended the Intersekt Conference.

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Regulatory Update:

• Brad Jones, Assistant Governor (Financial System) gave a speech on Financial Innovation and the Future of CBDC in Australia at the Intersekt Conference.
• The RBA and Treasury released a joint paper on Central Bank Digital Currency and the Future of Digital Money in Australia.
• Joe Longo, Chair of ASIC gave a speech on Effective compliance: Perspectives from the regulator.
• ASIC initiated a global search and request for tender (RFT) process for its investment scam website takedown service.
• ASIC receives new powers under the Treasury Laws Amendment Bill 2024 which introduce new powers essential to ensuring a stable and efficient Australian financial system.

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Parliamentary Update:

• The Help to Buy Bills were debated, with the Senate voting to postpone further consideration of the bills postponed until 26 November 2024.
• The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Amendment Bill, and Privacy and Other Legislation Amendment Bill were both referred to committees in the Senate.
• The Senate voted to create an inquiry into the collapse of Dixon Advisory and its connection to the CSLR – namely its development and ongoing viability. The inquiry will sit within the parliamentary joint committee on corporations and financial services.  
• Senator McKim introduced a Private Senator’s Bill regarding ‘Competition and Consumer Amendment (Make Price Gouging Illegal)’, targeted at corporate profits and ongoing consumer costs.
• The Shadow Treasurer, Angus Taylor MP addressed the Melbourne Intersekt Fintech Festival with a speech entitled ‘Back on Track and Back to Basics – The Coalition’s approach to Financial Services’.
• Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services, Stephen Jones MP also addressed the event, with a speech on ‘The importance of trust in the modern economy’, touching on scams, CDR and enhancing competition.

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Economic Update:

• Labour force data showed that in seasonally adjusted terms:
  • unemployment remained at 4.2%,
  • the number of employed people increased by 53,700 (driven by increased migration),
  • participation rate remained at 67.1%, and
  • underemployment increased from 6.3% to 6.5%.

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Coming up next week:

Parliament/Regulators:  

• House and Senate not sitting

Data announcements: 

• 25/09 – Monthly Consumer Price Index indicator
• 26/09 – Labour Force, Australia, Detailed
• 26/09 – National Accounts: Finance and Wealth

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Upcoming Submissions:

Published submissions

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Upcoming Events:

The ABA invites you to join us for a briefing by Housing Australia on their latest ‘Housing Australia Trends and Insights Report’ in September, focused on improving housing outcomes for Australians to be held Tuesday 15 October from 2.00pm to 3.00pm.

To register, please email Nat Madden, Associate Director, Events at nat.madden@ausbanking.org.au

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Selected Media:

• AFR – RBA to keep interest rates high after employment jumps 47,000
• SMH – The $6 trillion gamble the RBA isn’t willing to take
• The Australian – Young Australians more likely to experience defaults, hardship as affordability woes bite: ExperianThe Conversation – Australia’s new scam prevention draft is welcome – but it needs to be broader in scope
• The Age – The costly business of cash has to change

Warm regards,
The ABA Team

Weekly Update