What it means for key players in new and old order

The newish chair of the corporate regulator will be under pressure to ensure the public sees companies being taken to court.

Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) chairman James Shipton leaves the royal commission hearing in November, last year. Picture: AAP

James Shipton: The newish chair of the corporate regulator will be under pressure to ensure the public sees companies being taken to court.

With 19 companies being referred for investigation over 24 instances of breaking the law, plus a series of new powers and areas of responsibility, Shipton will also be plying the government for extra funding, previously claiming ASIC was underfunded by as much as two-thirds, which Josh Frydenberg has said will be reviewed for the upcoming budget.

Josh Frydenberg and Chris Bowen: With Frydenberg and Bowen pledging to adopt all the measures of the report, a fight looms over how tough of an approach they take. Bowen also faces a stoush between the union movement and Labor, with recommendations targeting the industrial relations system’s marriage with the superannuation system on the nose.

Frydenberg will face backlash from industry sectors, such as mortgage brokers and life insurers, where lucrative commissions are likely to be banned, potentially threatening the viability of entire sectors.

Graeme Samuel: The hard-hitting former competition watchdog chairman, Samuel has been tasked with a wide-scale review of the banking regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.

The capability review, first revealed by The Australian at the weekend, will trawl over the entire structure of the banking regulator, which was revealed to have failed to take a single company to court despite knowing of widespread misconduct stretching over years.

The senior members of APRA, many of whom appear to have been asleep at the wheel, will need to prove they can keep the industry underfoot.

Wayne Byres: The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chairman was only recently reappointed for a further five-year term, but faces his toughest test since taking the helm. Byres will need to get used to having a much more public role in enforcement and will need to get used to answering the public’s questions.

Ken Henry and Andrew Thorburn: The future is uncertain for the beleaguered banking duo, after NAB was singled out by Kenneth Hayne for its dismal approach to overhauling its rotten culture.

After a bruising appearance in the royal commission’s witness dock, NAB chairman Henry — a former Treasury secretary — had his governance credentials questioned after appearing not to take the examination at all seriously.

Meanwhile, NAB CEO Thorburn’s light approach to the company’s fees-for-no-service debacle suggested he did not take the scandal with the weight it deserved.

Hayne has latched onto a report showing the bank was still pushing its frontline staff to sell as many loans as possible during the commission hearings.