Banks get lots of profit for not much expense

The Commerce Commission has limited its inquiry to personal banking, but the scope should be wider. (Image: Getty)

Fri, 14 Jul 2023

The decision to restrict the Commerce Commission's bank investigation to personal banking is a thumbs-up for politics but a thumbs-down for reality.There's lots I could say but I’ll limit myself to these five thoughts:More than 50% of bank profits come from outside personal banking.Banks need to both price for risk and take risks.The 2021 OECD Economic Survey for Australia pointed to banks not lending to small and medium-sized enterprises and other problems – you could rinse and repeat here.Financial sector gross operating s...

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