November 2024
Three things directors must learn from a time of scandals
A board director’s job is getting more complex. But they need to maintain their own clear lines of sight into the businesses they oversee.
There’s a simple way to simplify the red tape strangling business
The Australian Law Reform Commission has set out a blueprint to fix our financial service laws mess. It must not be allowed to gather dust.
October 2024
BoQ under investigation for charging fees to dead customers
The regional lender is being investigated by the industry’s oversight body in a throwback to the findings of the financial services royal commission in 2018.
May 2024
Inside the unstoppable rise of Australia’s mortgage brokers
They’re wealthy, brash and eating the banks’ lunch. Meet the millionaire mortgage brokers taking on the major lenders and – for now – winning.
Consulting firm fixes are impractical and an overreach
More importantly, they are not necessary to correct a deficiency in the regulation of delinquent behaviour, says the former ACCC chairman.
April 2024
Widow claims dodgy NAB advice voided $400,000 in life insurance cover
The case revives a central issue raised during the financial services royal commission – vertical integration of banking and financial advice.
March 2024
Five years after the royal commission, big banks have their mojo back
But the newfound assertiveness isn’t simply due to the fading of past humiliations. They are increasingly conscious their large size is now a huge asset.
February 2024
Did Hayne’s shock treatment swing the pendulum too far?
The Hayne royal commission shocked corporate Australia and brought big shifts to banking and wealth. But five years on, unintended consequences remain.
How a royal commission sank a 175-year-old financial giant
Five years after the Hayne inquiry, it’s easy to forget the scale of the misconduct. The fees-for-no-service scandal alone cost the sector $4.4 billion.
Banker pay a ‘work in progress’ five years on from Hayne inquiry
On the anniversary of the banking royal commission, the prudential regulator says there’s still work to do on remuneration, risk culture and accountability.
October 2023
Seems nothing can melt No-vote hearts: Pearson
Leading Yes campaigner Noel Pearson urges supporters to maintain hope but says Saturday’s referendum appears lost and Australia was a “hard country now”.
June 2023
Donaghue shocks dinner with ‘political’ speech
The Commonwealth solicitor-general weighed in to the Voice debate at the Victorian Bar dinner.
Why genuine robo-advice remains a myth
Your financial adviser might already be dabbling in ChatGPT, but an AI-enabled advice experience still seems some way off.
Star silks hatch plan for diversity-minded chambers
A trio of silks hopes to disrupt the Sydney barrister boy’s club.
May 2023
Banking royal commission silk enlisted for Insignia lawsuit
Barrister Michael Hodge KC, who in 2018 was counsel assisting the Hayne royal commission, will act for the wealth giant’s aggrieved shareholders.
Conflicts of interest, poor culture plague finance sector: Hayne
A call to action by former banking royal commissioner Kenneth Hayne comes as the PwC scandal rocks corporate Australia and parliament, mirroring problems in the financial services sector four years ago.
April 2023
Claims Voice will ‘veto’ Anzac Day wrong: Hayne
Witnesses to a parliamentary committee have rejected suggestion the proposed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advisory body would force a change of Australia Day or Anzac Day.
March 2023
PwC boss Tom Seymour’s big fail on tax leak
PwC are experts at minimisation, so there’s no irony when they also prefer this as their PR strategy.
February 2023
ASIC was almost broken up after the Hayne royal commission
The Morrison government came close to breaking up the corporate regulator under the former chairman James Shipton, after Treasury investigated the idea when it was raised in the final recommendations of the Hayne royal commission.
‘No need for more opinions’ on financial advice: Levy
The lawyer tasked with investigating the quality and availability of financial advice says her review will stand up to any “stress-testing” imposed by the government.