Regulator details why Australian banks face a bleaker future
'The litany of issues facing the banks and financial services is extraordinary and dismaying,' says Australian Shareholders’ Association head
Sydney — Australia’s beleaguered banks are facing up to a bleaker future. In another bad day for the industry, a scathing report released on Tuesday into the nation’s largest lender found a "widespread sense of complacency" from the top down blinded it to risks that led to a massive breach of anti-money laundering laws. And in a stark warning that the good times are over for some of the world’s most profitable banks, the head of the nation’s number four lender said a two-decade "golden period" is coming to an end. The damning report into Commonwealth Bank of Australia piles further woe on an industry that’s lost public and political trust amid revelations of widespread misconduct — ranging from lying to regulators to falsifying documents and taking bribes. The outcry has crimped the banks’ pricing power and emboldened regulators, threatening profit growth. 'Extraordinary and dismaying' "The litany of issues facing the banks and financial services is extraordinary and dismaying," sai...
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