Banks

As a self-funded retiree, Australia’s banks are important to me:   directly and indirectly, a sizeable chunk of my superannuation is invested in their shares!    Yet it seems to be accepted wisdom that there have been cultural issues with them.   Is this changing?

The banks have recently spent a lot of money to tell us that it is (and also that we’ll get better “products” and improved services, too).  Well, we’ll see.  The issue, of course, is that they might get 99% of things right, but when they do, that’s just accepted as to be expected.   But if there’s a lapse – the remaining 1% – the media and public will latch on to it, with the result that the credibility of the banks will be shattered.

In the meantime, noticeable by its omission from the recent advertising seems to have been any suggestion that the remuneration packages for senior executives in the banking sector might be reviewed – an aspect that seems to be raised every time a problem with the banks comes up.