Weekly Update: 19 June 2026

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Key News:

• The ABA held our annual Banking Conference in Melbourne on Wednesday. Thank you for attending and being part of the discussion.
• The ABA launched a new report at Conference, ‘The essential infrastructure: How Australian banks power the economy’, finding Australian households now own 65 per cent of the nation’s banks, worth $470 billion.
• The RBA Board left the cash rate at 4.35 per cent at its meeting after three consecutive hikes.

“When we think about who owns banks and the relationship between shareholders and households, they’re not strangers, actually shareholders and households are siblings. They are one in the same. They are interconnected, and that has only grown over a period of time.”

– ABA CEO Simon Birmingham. Opening address to the value of banking panel, 17 June.

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Media & Communications Update:

• The ABA distributed a media release ‘Economic contribution of Australian banks laid bare in new report’, marking the launch of the Mandala report.
• ABA CEO Simon Birmingham delivered the introduction to the conference panel, ‘How Banks Power the Australian Economy’, drawing on the Mandala report to frame the sector’s contribution to jobs, taxes and household wealth.
• The ABA also distributed a media release welcoming the proposal from APRA and ASIC to reduce the regulatory burden associated with the Financial Accountability Regime.
• Scenes from Banking 2026:

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Political Update:

• The Senate Economics Legislation Committee held two days of public hearings for its inquiry into the Treasury Laws Amendment (Tax Reform No. 1) Bill 2026, the legislation giving effect to the Budget’s CGT and negative gearing changes.
  • Evidence was sharply split: housing and welfare groups backed winding back the concessions to improve affordability, while property, business and startup groups warned of risks to housing supply, investment and venture capital. The National Farmers’ Federation also urged the committee not to overlook farmers, and Oxfam called for broader tax reform.
• The Prime Minister and Treasurer announced a set of carve-outs and amendments to the May 12 budget’s CGT and discretionary trust measures.
  • The Government is expanding small business CGT relief by raising the turnover threshold for the 50% active asset reduction from $2 million to $10 million, which means all 2.7 million active small businesses (98% of all active businesses) will now qualify for the concession.
  • The Government has released a consultation paper (open until 10 July) on a new Innovative Business CGT Concession, which would give early-stage startup investors, founders and employee share scheme participants a 50% CGT discount.
• The Greens-led Senate Select Committee on Intergenerational Housing Inequity (Chair: Senator Barbara Pocock) continued its inquiry this week, with hearings in Canberra (15 June) and Adelaide (17 June). The inquiry is examining the causes of housing inequity, including tax settings and lending rules, and is due to report by 30 September.
• The Government will exempt income from all testamentary trusts from the new minimum tax.
• RBA Assistant Governor (Financial System) Brad Jones addressed the ABA conference, discussing the relationship between geopolitical developments and the resilience of the global and Australian financial systems. The RBA also published the Q&A Brad Jones did following his speech.

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Economic Update:

• There are around 1.5 billion payment transactions each month in Australia. This amounts to around 48 million transactions each day.
• The majority (68%) of transactions are those made using debit cards, with a further 20 per cent made using credit cards.

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Regulatory Update

• APRA has commenced the final phase of its governance review by setting out updated requirements designed to strengthen governance across banking, superannuation and insurance.
• APRA wrote to banks, insurers and superannuation funds setting out its minimum expectations in relation to their readiness for geopolitical shocks. They also distributed a media release accompanying the letter.
• APRA published Chair John Lonsdale’s speech to the 2026 ABA Banking Conference.
• APRA and ASIC announced that they will streamline aspects of the Financial Accountability Regime to reduce regulatory burden without lowering accountability standards.
• ASIC published the transcript of the fireside chat between ASIC Chair Sarah Court and ABA CEO Simon Birmingham at the ABA conference.
• ASIC is making it easier to check if a website of an Australian financial services (AFS) licensee such as a bank, investment platform or super fund, is legitimate.

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Coming up next week:

• 25/6: The RBA PSRA consultation is expected to be released along with the House of Representatives Economics Committee report into schemes, digital wallets and innovations in the payments sector.
• Politics:
  • 22-25/6: Both Houses sitting.
• Data:
  • 24/6: Consumer Price Index
  • 25/6: Labour Force
  • 25/6: Australian National Accounts
  • 25/6: Job Vacancies
  • 25/6: Monthly Household Spending Indicator

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Upcoming Submissions

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Selected Media

• AFR – RBA and APRA put banks on ‘war footing’ over geopolitical risk
• ABC – Albanese and Chalmers unveil capital gains carve-outs for small businesses, startups
• SMH – Reserve Bank keeps rates on hold but warns of future rate hikes
• The Advisor – Banks ramp up lending as competition accelerates
• Broker news – Refinancing, construction, hardship: what the ABA’s new banking report found

Warm regards,
The ABA Team