Six ways politicians can fix the banks

When we asked CHOICE supporters whether the banks have improved since the royal commission, a whopping 96% told us they hadn’t. It’s clear the banks cannot be trusted to fix themselves.

The government needs to act to make banking fairer and community pressure will be crucial to make that happen. Can you email your MP and ask them to support six common sense changes? 

Based on feedback from thousands of supporters, here's what we're asking the government to support:

1. Strong laws that hold bank bosses to account. The Business Executive Accountability Regime (BEAR) needs to be extended and explicitly hold executives accountable for consumer protection issues.
2. Compensation when they do you wrong. The financial sector needs to fund a last resort compensation scheme, to ensure people are not left financially ruined.
3. Stop banks from writing their own rules. ASIC needs rule-making powers to draft and administer mandatory industry codes, instead of letting businesses draft their own unenforceable, weak codes that don't help people or curb bad conduct. 
4. Fix the financial advice industry. Ongoing service arrangements need to be replaced with a fixed fee for service. Financial advisers shouldn't be collecting money for nothing via trail commissions for advice that was given years earlier. 
5. Mortgage brokers who act in your best interests. Brokers need to live up to their promises - there should be legislation that requires them to act in the best interests of their customers.
6. Close loopholes for banks and insurance companies. Loopholes and gaps in the law need to be closed so everyone is on the same playing field and consumers are protected across the board.