COBA submission to the Financial System Inquiry Talk to us Phone us Email us Breadcrumbs UniBank About Us Member news & media 2014 COBA submission to the Financial System Inquiry 07 April 2014 07 April 2014 COBA submission to the Financial System Inquiry The 2014 Financial System Inquiry (FSI) headed by former CBA boss David Murray will be the first inquiry of its type since the 1996-97 Wallis inquiry. The Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) has lobbied for an inquiry for some time, including through its Balance Banking campaign. The FSI gives us a chance for a simpler, fairer, sustainable banking system. Current banking rules are making the big banks bigger, which puts the Australian economy at greater risk and leaves consumers worse off. COBA regards winding back the dominance of the big four banks and promoting competition and competitive neutrality as key objectives of the FSI. COBA believes the inquiry should address the implicit guarantee currently enjoyed by the big four banks, and the impact of the current regulatory environment in the banking sector on concentration and competitive neutrality. It should also examine the appropriate treatment and recognition of the ‘customer-owned’ banking business model in the corporate, prudential and taxation regimes. COBA’s proposals for consideration include: A levy on the big four banks to pay for the taxpayer funded subsidy they receive; Better consumer information so Australians make informed banking choices; A banking regulator more focused on fostering competition; A tax cut on deposits to lift national savings; Equitable treatment and recognition of the customer owned banking model.
