Weekly Update: 22nd September 2023

“Once online, many customers have found the accessibility and the 24/7 availability of digital banking simple and easy and they haven’t turned back. These digital shifts have contributed to a dramatic reduction in the use of bank branches and a rapid increase in digital transactions. 99 per cent of bank interactions take place digitally and customers report the highest levels of satisfaction using this channel.” 

–  ABA CEO Anna Bligh at the Senate inquiry into regional branch closures

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Parliamentary Update:

• The Senate Rural and Regional Affairs Committee conducted public hearings on Wednesday into bank branch closures. Appearing before the Committee were major bank CEOs, the Banking Code Compliance Committee (BCCC), the Financial Sector Union and ABA CEO Anna Bligh.  
• Treasurer Jim Chalmers welcomed an update from Standard and Poor’s on Australia, which upgraded a key fiscal assessment metric to the top level and affirmed Australia’s triple A credit rating. The Treasurer also noted a new OECD report showing unpredictability in the global economy.  
• Final budget figures for 22/23 released today show the government gained a surplus of $22.1 billion. 
• Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones announced the Federal Government has appointed an independent reviewer of continuous disclosure regime amendments.  
• Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced a 7.5% levy on platforms such as Airbnb and Stayz, and announced a new housing plan.  
• The Federal Governments employment whitepaper is expected to be released on Monday 25th September. 

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Policy Update:

• ABA attended the SWIFT International Banking Operations Seminar (SIBOS) conference this week and used this opportunity to meet with domestic and overseas stakeholders from industry and regulators. Key themes included faster payments, cross border payments, cyber resilience, preventing financial crime, and digital identity.  
• ABA met with the Department of Finance for a briefing on the rollout of the Australian Government Digital Identity System and the upcoming Digital Identity Bill which is expected to be considered by Parliament before the end of the year. 

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Regulatory Update:

• ASIC has commenced civil penalty proceedings in the Federal Court against Bit Trade Pty Ltd, provider of the Kraken crypto exchange to Australian customers, on matters relating to design and distribution obligations.  
• Michele Bullock commenced a seven-year term as RBA Governor on 18 September.   
• The Federal Government has appointed Douglas Niven as the full-time Chair of the Auditing and Assurance Standards Board for a period of five years.  

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Economic Update:

• Internationally, many countries are experiencing growing inflation once more. Russia, Canada, France, the US, China and Indonesia all experienced increases in rates of inflation in August, Figure 1. Those countries that experienced a contraction in inflation are those that still have higher underlying rates, Figure 2. 

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Communications and Media Update:

• ABC TV’s News Breakfast program ran a series of scams themed reports this week. ABA CEO Anna Bligh was interviewed on Monday as part of this series, outlining initiatives underway to disrupt scammers, Watch the interview here  
• Anna discussed the Regional Branches Inquiry on ABC’s Radio National breakfast show, outlining the customer-led transition underway in the banking sector. Listen to the interview here.  
• Anna also conducted an interview with 6PR Radio in Perth, discussing scams and AI. 

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Upcoming Submissions:

Published submissions

Selected Media:

• ABC – VIDEO: The closure of regional banks in NSW subject of senate inquiry  
• AFR – Big four cut fixed rates as inflation outlook eases. 
• AFR – New business guidelines aim to help firms account for impact on nature   

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