The Australian Banking Association (ABA) is the information source for the news media on the Australian banking industry, providing information, analysis and context on industry issues.
The ABA plays an active role in the public dialogue on banking and financial services, providing commentary on broader industry issues and facilitating access to other sources of information.
For media inquiries contact [email protected] or 0475 741 007.
Hamish MacDonald: A Senate inquiry is examining a wave of bank closures that have hit regional Australia particularly hard. More than 1600 bank branches have closed nationally in the past six years, including 309 in the last financial year. Like post offices and milk bars, bank branches form part of the architecture of regional communities… Read more »
“…we anticipate seeing branches as a part of Australia’s banking system for a very long time. It’s not about closing all branches, but we do expect from time to time, there will be some branches closing as more and more Australians choose to bank differently.”
“There’s no doubt there’s a lot of stress and that’s one of the reasons people are talking to those hardship teams in banks. And I encourage people to do that.”
“Speed is the essence when it comes to getting your money back from a scammer. Even if you’re not sure, even if you just suspect something’s not right, ring your bank as fast as you possibly can.”
“Remember the money and funds available to banks, the majority of them are other people’s deposits. So they need to be very careful about how they use that money. I think there’s a real question there about whether your deposits and your bank should be paying out to someone who decided to take a big investment risk”
“Robbers don’t come with a sawn off shotgun anymore. They come through your phone, and banks are putting their resources where their customers are. And that’s in the digital world.”
“if somebody comes to them in financial difficulty, they can help them set up one of these vetoes. It’s not a difficult thing to do”
“it’s a very competitive environment out there at the moment, there’s about 2400 Australians every single day refinancing every working day, have been for six months, it’s the highest rate of refinance we’ve ever seen in Australia. So you’re right, people are going out and getting a better deal”
“Australian banks are certainly better equipped now than they were in the GFC. They’ve got 2 to 2.5 times the capital reserves put aside for a rainy day than they had in the GFC. And that’s, that’s been 10 years of just gradual build up, required by the regulator put aside by banks. It’s an incredibly strong buffer if things do go rocky”
“What is underpinning this bank failure is a number of things, but not least of all, it’s a very niche bank with high exposure to one part of the economy. And that’s the part of the economy that’s been quite volatile and troubled”
“in two years, there was an 88% drop in the number of cash withdrawals made at that branch, and there was an 89% drop in cash deposits”
Whether you’re in a remote part of the country, or in the middle of a capital city, the data shows us that if you have reliable internet, then people are choosing to bank and do their basic transactions online
KARL STEFANOVIC: Well, they tell us they care but we’re still yet to see any of our major banks give Australian families a break on interest rates amid a deepening cost of living crisis. Calls now growing for the big banks to hold off on passing on rate hikes, and grant us all a reprieve…. Read more »
What we can see very clearly in the data is that a number of trends that were well underway, literally for a decade since about 2010, more transactions were using cash than cards. And that flipped in about 2010, and cards now, card payments, tap and go digital wallets, all of those payment methods, considerably outweigh cash
BILL MCDONALD: You may remember I spoke to Blake Talbot yesterday. Now, he got in touch with the show after falling victim to one of the most elaborate and sophisticated scams I think I may have ever heard of. Now, Blake and his pregnant wife have lost their entire life savings of over $26,000. As… Read more »
“A number of our banks actually have maternity leave lending products that are specific to people on parental leave, paid and unpaid, to help them through, what as I said, can be a difficult time.”
“We’ve seen about a 20% increase in farm and agribusiness scams over the last 12 months, most of them in the payment for things like heavy equipment. “
“The bank robbers of the 21st century do not use sawn-off shotguns – they are sitting at a computer trying to get into your account and trying to trick you into letting them in.”
The Hon Stephen Jones MP Assistant Treasurer and Minister for Financial Services announced funding for a new National Anti-Scams Centre on the first day of Scams Awareness Week, 7 November 2022. ABA CEO Anna Bligh joined the launch with other industry leaders. STEPHEN JONES: It’s an important day. This is anti-scam week, National Scams Awareness… Read more »
Anna Bligh appeared on ABC radio Adelaide on Wednesday 2 November 2022.