18 April 2018
The challenges and opportunities facing small and medium businesses in Australia today were the focus of discussions at a Roundtable hosted by the Reserve Bank of Australia.
The event was a rare chance for everyday small and medium businesses operators to talk directly to the top levels of banks, including ANZ CEO Shayne Elliott, to ASIC, APRA and Treasury.
The Australian Banking Association, along with the Australian Council of Small business, representatives for member Banks and other stakeholders were also in attendance to bring their own perspective on the issues and to answer questions. The event was agreed to and organised at the end of last year.
Australian Banking Association CEO Anna Bligh said that the Roundtable was an important opportunity for Australia’s banks to listen first hand to the needs of small business.
“Small business is the engine room of the Australian economy, accounting for more than 40% of all jobs or around 4.7 million people,” Ms Bligh said.
“This Roundtable was an important step in building the relationship between banks, small businesses and their representatives.
“Banks are working hard to better understand the needs of business, their challenges and how they can work with them to help them achieve their goals,” she said.
Key points of discussion highlighted by the small businesses present were:
- Access to finance for start-ups and business expansion
- Ease of comparison and switching between products and lenders
- Secured lending and the role of housing and personal guarantees
- Customising banking products for small business.
ENDS
Contact: Rory Grant 0475 741 007
Latest news
E&OE Radio Interview FiveAA Breakfast with David Penberthy and Will Goodings 17 March 2026. Topics: Tax paid by Australian banks; RBA Powers to regulate big tech David Penberthy (Host): Well, it’s a big amount of money, $16 billion that’s how much tax Australia’s biggest banks paid last year. And at the same time, organisations like Apple, Google and Meta, you think about the ease with which and the frequency with which we… Read more »
This opinion piece by ABA CEO Simon Birmingham originally appeared in the Australian Financial Review. In an attempt to avoid domestic regulatory scrutiny, large foreign multinationals have developed a curious rhetorical strategy. The larger their footprint in Australia’s financial system becomes, the more strenuously they insist they are marginal, incidental or merely technical intermediaries. For years, Apple has… Read more »
The ABA acknowledges APRA’s proposed capital and liquidity changes. Australian banks share APRA’s commitment to maintaining a strong and resilient banking system. ABA CEO Simon Birmingham said banks will work with APRA to ensure any enacted changes lead to real benefits for the economy and Australians. “Banks will carefully review the liquidity proposals and will… Read more »