Bank of Queensland chairman Warwick Negus has criticised a proposed bush bank levy being considered by Treasury, describing it as unduly hard on the country’s second-tier lenders and bad for competition.
Treasury secretly consulted on the potential new levy to ensure bank branches in remote areas stay open, The Australian Financial Review revealed last month. This could take the form of a community service obligation levied on all banks, redistributed to lenders with a larger regional footprint relative to their deposits.
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Vesna Poljak is the Companies editor. She was previously the Markets editor with a special interest in the investment industry, hedge funds and accounting. She is based in the Sydney newsroom. Connect with Vesna on Twitter. Email Vesna at vpoljak@afr.com
