Day 472: 'What 'good' looks like'
Counting the days since the banking royal commission was established.
Good afternoon, and welcome to day 472.
Today in summary: Banking industry has little to say on the Budget; banks band together to get on the same page on how they use data; and government commits A$100k to “identify options to support the establishment” of a superannuation consumer advocate.
-- Charis
Current banker panic level: 🤫😍🤔
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Business leaders have welcomed the government’s forecast Budget surplus for next year, with many assuming it’s a fait accompli, despite few of the measures in the Budget likely to be legislated before Parliament is prorogued. There’s been very little reaction specifically from the banking industry.
The Financial Services Council said it was “concerned about Australia’s increasingly uncompetitive business tax system”.
The Insurance Council complained there was no money for preventing natural disasters or making homes and businesses more capable of withstanding the impact of floods or cyclones.
“The Coalition has ignored the Productivity Commission, which recommended the Commonwealth invest at least $200 million a year in mitigation and resilience projects.”
The Australian Banking Association has so far stayed mum (except to welcome the social impact investing taskforce), a marked contrast from 2017 when Anna Bligh was busy slamming Treasurer Morrison’s A$6.2 billion bank levy as being an “attack on jobs and growth”.
Three of the four major banks have joined a new group called the “Data Institute”, which will see the big end of town help smaller organisations develop data governance policies, reports the AFR. ANZ, CBA and Westpac have joined at launch, along with other large companies that hold data including IAG, Qantas and Allens. The group is being established as banks continue to debate how much data should be shared when open banking comes into force.
ANZ head of enterprise data governance and Data Institute chairman Michelle Pinheiro said:
“Policy has its own path, and regardless of how that turns out, we want to foster a community of safe and ethical data practices to lift Australia’s game versus the rest of the world.
“We want to set the scene for what 'good' looks like.”
One of the smaller ticket, but interesting items in yesterday’s budget is A$100,000 for scoping the idea of a superannuation consumer advocate. Commissioner Hayne recommended an independent, adequately resourced superannuation members’ advocacy body. Assistant Treasurer Stuart Robert said the advocate would be:
“an important voice in providing input on behalf of members in policy discussions, and working to educate and assist members navigate the superannuation system”.
Today’s burn prize: ABC business reporter Michael Janda
🔥🔥🔥
“Sure. And Bon Scott's still alive and living in Canberra.”
Janda isn’t alone in calling out Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s premature claim that “Australia is back in the black”.
The Commentariat
The Budget isn’t coming back to surplus because of tough decisions made by the government, writes Deloitte Access Economics partner Chris Richardson in the AFR.
“The budget figuring only adds up because future spending is now seen to be on a rather lower trajectory. But that’s not because governments are taking decisions to cut spending. It is because the shape of economies is changing in ‘spending friendly’ ways: less inflation, slower wage gains, lower interest rates, and more people in jobs.”