Weekly Update: 5th April

Highlights this week:

• In the media: ABA CEO Anna Bligh was interviewed by ABC and Sunrise on the unfolding future of cash and its distribution around the country 
• Key data: Monthly household spending grew 3.6 per cent in the year to February 2024. 

Quote of the week:

“In the end, I think it’s very welcome news that the parent company has decided that they would rather provide some short term funding. But the long term issue hasn’t gone away, and we’re all going to have to get round the table. I think the players around the table are very focused on the national interest.”

-ABA CEO Anna Bligh speaking on ABC radio regarding the future of cash 

---

Parliamentary Update:

• The Prime Minister announced that Ms Samantha Mostyn AO will become Australia’s next Governor-General from 1 July 2024.  
• The AFR reported that Treasurer Jim Chalmers was close to “finalising a budget package to fast-track business investment approvals for foreign and domestic capital to speed up the stuttering energy transition and other Labor priority projects”. 
• A number of MPs and regulators, across many jurisdictions spoke at the COSBOA National Small Business Summit. Held over two days in Darling Harbour, speakers discussed important policy faced by small businesses in our ever-changing economic climate. Key speeches included:
  • Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s address  
  • Minister for Housing, Homelessness and Small Business, Julie Collins’ address 
  • Leader of the Opposition Peter Dutton’s address 
  • Assistant RBA Govenor (Financial System) Brad Jones’ address on Financing SME Innovation in Australia 
• Assistant Minister Andrew Leigh announced the release of an issues paper on non‑compete and related restraint clauses that seeks feedback on the use and impact of these clauses across the economy. Submissions and responses to a Treasury questionnaire can be made online until 31 May 2024. 
• Assistant Minister Leigh authored an opinion piece on ‘Building the data to help investors direct their money, and shape the world’. 
• Assistant Minister Leigh also addressed the 10th Annual Australian Government Data Summit with a speech titled ‘Harnessing the data deluge: the surprising power of big data and artificial intelligence’. 

---

Policy Update:

The ABA: 

• Held the quarterly ABA-Auspaynet liaison meeting  
• Attended the monthly ABA-AP+ liaison 
• CEO Anna Bligh met with CEO of ASFA 
• met with Treasury to discuss the exposure draft of the Global and Domestic Minimum taxes legislation 
• met with ISDA and members to prepare for APRA’s FRTB benchmarking exercise 
• attended COSBOA’s two-day small business summit, which included attendees across the small business sector and presentations from regulators, industry, the Prime Minister, Federal Leaders of the Opposition and the National Party, NSW Independents, and the NSW Premier and Minister for Small Business. 
• met with Treasury to discuss opportunities to support small business customers participating in the SMEG and SMERL schemes that were developed over the COVID-19 period and continue to be in effect. 

---

Regulatory Update:

• ACCC – Beware of fake invoices from scammers impersonating businesses. Read more 
• ACCC – HSBC pays penalties for alleged breaches of Consumer Data Right rules. Read more 
• APRA – Releases letter on upcoming climate risk self-assessment survey. Read more 
• APRA – Releases minor updates to the prudential framework for ADIs and insurers. Read more 
• RBA – Assistant Governor (Financial Markets) Christopher Kent speech on the Future System for Monetary Policy Implementation. Read more 
• RBA – Minutes of the Monetary Policy Meeting of the Reserve Bank Board. Read more 
• RBA – Index of Commodity Prices. Read more 
• RBA – Assistant Governor (Financial System) Brad Jones speech on Financing SME Innovation in Australia – Challenges and Opportunities. Read more 

---

Economic Update:

Monthly household spending grew 3.6 per cent in the year to February 2024. This was driven by non-discretionary spending (6.9%) over discretionary spending (-0.2%). Spending growth was also concentrated in services (5.1%) over goods (1.9%). 

Transport has experienced the greatest growth in household spending over the period (12.3%) while both miscellaneous goods and services as well as furnishings and household equipment shrunk (-5.5% and -0.8%, respectively). 

---

Communications and Media:

• ABA CEO Anna Bligh was interviewed by ABC and Sunrise on the unfolding future of cash and its distribution around the country.  
• The ABA said the banking sector stands ready to contribute to the newly established Senate inquiry that will examine financial abuse in Australia.  
• The ABA also responded to queries about new data from the Australian Financial Complaints Authority on financial hardship, saying people facing financial difficulty should talk to their bank as early as they can about what support is available. 

---

Coming up next week:

Parliament/ regulators:  

• 11/4 Senate Committee Inquiry into ASIC 
• 11/4 Senate Select Committee – Supermarket Prices 
• 13/4 Cook By-Election 

Events: 

• 11/4 Anna Bligh  speaking at CEW Event, Allens Office 

Submissions: 

• 9/4 BNPL regulatory reforms 

Data announcements:  

• 8/4 Lending Indicators 

---

Upcoming Submissions:

Published submissions

---

Selected Media:

• AFR – We should be glad banks are speaking up 
• ABC – Former RBA boss warns Australian living standards in firing line 
• ABC – Parliamentary inquiry to examine the role of banks in preventing financial abuse 
• The Adviser – AFCA concerned about unresponsive lenders 
• AFR – Linfox lays out its terms for keeping Armaguard afloat 

Weekly Update