"The definition of insanity is
doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results"
: Albert Einstein
While there's a bit of conjecture over
whether Albert Einstein actually uttered these words, the quote comes in handy
when considering the many cases of unlawful and unethical behaviour levelled at
Australia's big four banks.
Inquiry after inquiry, committee on to top of
committee, enforceable undertakings, slapped wrists, tough talk from the corporate
watchdog, solemn commitments on the importance of "culture" from banking bosses.
To regular people getting on with their lives
and trusting banks to manage their money, mortgage and superannuation it all
sounds like the same answer - or "non answer".
For most it adds up to the same result Albert
Einstein is attributed with talking about - the expectation that whatever
banking bosses say about the misdeeds that have come to light there's a high
certainty there are more skeletons in the closet that bank spin machines are
trying resolve internally.
So how to get the to unvarnished truth about
the culture inside Australia's banks as scandals continue to mount with
alarming frequency and could, as Bill Shorten suggests, a Royal Commission be
the answer?
To date, despite the plethora of inquiries,
there seems no stop to the bad news coming out of banks as evidenced just last week when Westpac was dragged into allegations surrounding the rigging of the bank
bill swap rate or BBSW.
While ASIC uncovered the alleged Westpac
behaviour and is taking the bank to court, most other scandals have only come to
light through the courage of whistleblowers who have paid a high personal and
professional price for coming forward.
Whistleblowers were critical in revealing
unethical practices at the Commonwealth and National Australia Banks. And more
recently, the chief medical officer at the CBA's insurance arm Comminsure Dr
Benjamin Koh put his job on the line and was ultimately dismissed after raising
allegations about the appalling treatment of clients and staff alike.
As we have seen in the Royal Commission into
child sexual abuse, whistleblowers and victims have come forward with painful
evidence and personal experiences that might have been difficult or unthinkable
while the institutions themselves, regulators or police were controlling the high
emotion inquiries.
So while Bill Shorten is of course a
politician sniffing a chance of winning office, he knows the public sentiment
has turned against the banks and that demands will only grow louder for any
inquiry that has teeth.
The spin from federal government ministers
that the corporate regulator ASIC is best placed to investigate rings hollow
given the findings of a 2014 Senate inquiry that ASIC is a "timid,
hestitant" regulator.
For Jeff Morris - the whistleblower who
brought the CBA's financial planning scandal to light - a Royal Commission is
the only solution to restore confidence in the banking sector.
"Eight years ago, when I saw what they
(the CBA) were doing to some people in that financial planning area, I realised
just how bad things had become in financial services," Mr Morris told AM.
"And I kind of thought: this is where
we're heading. I thought for many years there needed to be a parliamentary
inquiry to lead to a royal commission. And I've never lost hope in that."
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