29 October 2020
The ABA does not support the proposed segmentation of banking data into high, medium, and low risk.
The speed at which the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) intends to finalise the draft Rules is concerning, especially given risks which have been raised in the Privacy Impact Assessment (PIA).
The ABA does not believe that it is possible for the ACCC to mitigate the risks raised in the PIA and concurrently resolve the questions and concerns raised in this submission by December 2020.
The ABA is particularly concerned with negative impacts the speed of implementation will have on smaller banks.
The ABA is also concerned that consumers may be overwhelmed with the level of complexity in the proposed Rules which may make them less likely to participate in the CDR. Trust in the security of the CDR is paramount to its success.
The ABA urges the ACCC to reconsider the intention to finalise these rules by December 2020 and seeks a meeting with the ACCC to discuss the concerns raised in this submission
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The Australian Banking Association (ABA) welcomes the opportunity to provide this submission to the Senate Select Committee on Cost of Living’s (Committee) inquiry into the cost of living pressures facing Australians, ways to ease the cost of living and the Government’s fiscal policy response (Inquiry).
Banks are aware of the challenges Australians face in the current inflationary environment, which have arisen from a combination of the COVID-19 pandemic, high household savings, pent-up demand, and global factors, including supply chain constraints and the war in Ukraine. To curb inflation, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), alongside other central banks globally, have responded by tightening monetary policy. The increases in the target cash rate have had flow-on effects to the cost of banking and living for Australian consumers.
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) welcomes the Treasury’s consultation and the role that this initiative can play in developing a crypto regulatory regime in Australia. Regulation of crypto assets The Reserve Bank’s retail Central Bank Digital Currency trial highlights the potential for crypto assets to benefit the economy, with a role for banks, payments, financial markets and fintechs. The crypto assets market continues to grow. An estimated 25.6% of Australians own crypto assets,1 and the global cryptocurrency market rebounded to an estimated US$1.08 trillion in early 2023.
The ABA supports the policy objective that large businesses pay small businesses on time. Banks have taken a range of steps to support small business customers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and following recent major natural disasters. As a relatively new reporting regime, the ABA considers there is room to improve the scheme to ensure greater efficiency while maintaining or improving its effectiveness.