Quick strategies needed for banking competition

Much to the surprise of Squirrel’s chief executive David Cunningham the inquiry “got real legs as it progressed and the result is a quality succinct report with a number of important recommendations”.

The inquiry criticised the lack of competition in the banking sector, saying the “Big Four” Australian-owned banks reap higher profits than their international peers and recommended lower barriers for new entrants.

It also called for the Reserve Bank to adopt “market efficiency” as one of its key objectives after hearing evidence that it is too focused on financial stability.

However, the inquiry’s final report says its findings on the state of the sector largely mirror those of the Commerce Commission’s report into personal banking released last year.