Weekly Update: 1st September 2023

“if you can prevent the scam…from jumping in the getaway vehicle and getting out of the country, no matter whether you’re the biggest business in Australia or the smallest, that is the absolute best protection that you can put in place…if scams just keep increasing and coming to people in ever increasing amounts, then it’ll be a losing battle.” 

– ABA CEO Anna Bligh, House Economics Committee Public Hearing, 31 Aug

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Feature:

Anna Bligh, ABA CEO and Chris Taylor, ABA Chief of Policy appeared before the House of Representatives Economics Committee inquiry into promoting dynamism, competition and business formation.  

The ABA received questions from the Committee on: 

• A national Digital ID solution 
• The potential for an Australian regulatory initiatives grid 
• Scams 
• Regional branch closures 

• Bank@Post, and  
• Covered bonds.  

“It has been nearly twelve months since large Australian companies experienced major data breaches impacting millions of Australians. Taking steps to protect the security of the Australian people’s data is paramount… It will improve security, efficiency and most importantly productivity across our economy at a critical time. The time to implement a Digital ID for Australia is now,” Ms Bligh said.

Western Sydney business forum & Financial Assistance Hub Launch

The ABA unveiled a renewed industry-wide Financial Assistance Hub at the Western Sydney Small and Medium Business (‘SME’) forum ‘Resilience of small business in a rapidly evolving digital world’ with Business NSW (‘BNSW’) in Parramatta.  

The Financial Assistance Hub, available online to all bank customers, provides a range of tools and resources designed to help customers understand the options available to them including when they are experiencing or anticipating financial hardship. 

“Originally launched to assist businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Hub has been updated and completely revised to ensure it is useful, easy to comprehend and relevant to those in need,” ABA CEO Anna Bligh said. 
 
Ms Bligh then hosted a panel discussion with EY Oceania’s Chief Economist Cherelle Murphy, NAB’s Executive General Manager, Small Business Bank, Ana Marinkovic, and Business Western Sydney’s Executive Director, David Borger.   
 
An economic update was also provided by Business NSW’s Chief Economist, Dr Sherman Chan.

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Parliamentary Update:

• Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones announced that the practice of ‘screen scraping’ will be examined and release a new discussion paper on the issue. The screen scraping discussion paper submissions will close on 25 October 2023. The draft non-bank lending rules submissions will close on 6 October 2023. 
• The Assistant Treasurer announced the end of the Modernising Business Registers (MBR) program following a review that found the program could not deliver value for money, as well as identifying budget and timeline blowouts. 
• Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones released a consultation on unfair trading practices, including online subscription cancellation issues, website pop-up boxes, and long and confusing disclaimers.  
   
• Small Business Minister Julie Collins released the written report from a review into small business payment times. The review makes 14 recommendations, encompassing 23 actions for Government. The Government is considering the findings and recommendations.   
• Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh addressed the National Press Club on the topic of ‘Evaluating policy impact: working out what works’.  
• The Prime Minister announced the date of the Voice Referendum as 14 October.

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Policy Update:

• ABA Policy Director Rhonda Luo appeared on a panel at the Intersekt Conference, along with Hannah Glass (King & Wood Mallesons), Michael Saadat (Block, Inc), and Dr Daniel Mulino (Chair of the House Economics Committee) .The topic of the panel was ‘Fostering Collaboration with Regulators and Government’.  

• ABA CEO Anna Bligh attended the IAG Coporate Affairs Annual Conference in Sydney. Ms Bligh was interviewed as a fire-side chat by Jane Anderson, IAG Executive General Manager Corporate Affairs, on the topic of ‘banking, trust and leadership’. 
• ISSB Consultation on Priorities:
  • On August 31, the ABA made a submission to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Consultation on Agenda Priorities. Following the release of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) S1 and S2 standards, the ISSB sought feedback on its next round of priorities.  The ABA submission made three key points:
    • Our view is that the next priority for the ISSB should be supporting the implementation of IFRS S1 and S2, which will be key for the ISSB’s lasting success.  
    • Should the ISSB takes on a new project, the ABA would support a priority focus on “integration in reporting”.  
    • We support the longstanding strategic decision to focus on “Climate first, not climate only”, and we suggest the ISSB beyond this maintain an appropriate pace to ensure traction for the next round of topics.  
  • The ABA has also contributed to joint submissions on this topic from the International Banking Federation and Australian peak bodies. 
• The ABA participated in a workshop with the CDR Data Standards Board to develop more effective processes to manage customer experience in CDR.  
• The ABA sent a proactive letter to APRA on the issue of Stress Testing.

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Regulatory Update:

• ASIC wrote to thirty lenders calling on them to make sure they appropriately support customers experiencing financial hardship.
   
• Corporate Plans for 2023-24 were released by:
  • The ABS
  • The RBA
  • ASIC
  • APRA
     
• RBA Deputy Governor Michele Bullock delivered a key speech on ‘Climate Change and Central Banks’ at the Sir Leslie Melville Lecture.
   
• ASIC launched proceedings against five Youpla Directors. 

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Economic Update:

• Monthly CPI indicates that inflation is starting to fall, with a 4.9 per cent increase in July 2023, down from 5.4 per cent in June 2023. 
• Retail trade has also slowed, with retail turnover having increased 2.1 per cent in the year to July compared to 2.3 per cent in the year to June. 
• Deposits on the books of Australian ADIs increased in July, after falling for the first time in two years in June 2023. Household deposits (which include both transaction and term deposits) now sit at $1.39 trillion, 41 per cent higher than January 2020. 

• The ABA provided comments for an article in the Courier Mail about data from the Australian Financial Crimes Exchange (AFCX) that found almost half of crypto funds are being channelled to cryptocurrency. Read the full article here: Scammers diverting nearly half of stolen cash to crypto, as banks call for increased security The piece was syndicated across News Ltd outlets. 

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Communications and media:

• ABA CEO Anna Bligh appeared on Sky News with Laura Jayes to discuss financial counselling funding, and also appeared on ABC Radio with Peter Ryan on ASIC’s letter to lenders on hardship. 

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Upcoming Submissions:

Published submissions

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Selected Media:

• AFR: Banks seek a carve-out from new AI regulation
• AFR: Non-bank borrowers at the pointy end of mortgage stress
• The Australian: The Future Fund’s $256bn bet that the investment world has fundamentally changed
• SMH: ASIC warns backs not to drop ball on stressed borrowers

Anna BlighWeekly Update