Australia’s biggest superannuation funds have pushed back on a Reserve Bank warning that they are overinvested in the big four banks, arguing that cutting back would hit the retirement savings of members and weaken the banks by exposing them to volatile foreign capital.

A day after the RBA warned the deep entwinement of two sectors created an outsized risk for financial shocks, AustralianSuper and Australian Retirement Trust said these links actually strengthened the overall system.