Fair Finance
Watch is a Non-Governmental Organization Focused on the Fairness of the Financial Services
Industries - Banking, Insurance and Securities - to Local Communities, Urban and Rural,
North and (Global) South, including under Human
Rights Laws
FFW researches, documents and advocates around financial firms' activities, and how
they affect local communities. The profiles below are in-process -- For or with more
information, contact us.
Oceania / Australia
Australia -- Banking and lending
industries: how and by whom they are regulated, consumer protection and public
participation issues, human rights tribunal(s)
Currently, merger of Australia's main
in-country banks is prohibited, by the so-called “Four Pillars” ban. The industry has been lobbying against this
restriction, and meanwhile global competitors like HSBC and GE have moved in, including with offers
of subprime loans. “GE Capital has the
biggest non-bank branch network in the country after it purchased the Australian Financial
Investments Group. It includes the Wizard Home Loans brand and a 230-branch network.”
(Asian Banker Journal, Nov. 15, 2004). Other U.S.-based banks which are authorized
deposit-takers and/or operate licensed branches in Australia include Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, and Bank of America, along with the
ubiquitous HSBC, Royal Bank of Canada, Toronto Dominion
Bank, Royal Bank of Scotland, BNP, ING, Deutsche Bank, Mizuho and others (see
lists, below). The volume of mergers and
acquisitions in the highest in Asia: “Australia was the most active country with an
M&A volume of $73.3 billion, followed by Singapore ($17.7 billion) and China and Hong
Kong ($8.3 billion). Morgan Stanley said that Korea was the fifth most active M&A
market in the Asia Pacific region so far this year with a deal volume of $7.4
billion.” (Korea Times, October 13, 2004).
Regulation: Recent inquiries have found that
while the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) “regulates
misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to a financial service or product which does
include credit facilities... the Department of Fair Trading administer the Consumer Credit
Code in relation to the conduct of the credit facilities.”
This
has been clarified, in the following recent response, from infoline [at] asic.gov.au
Dear Mr. Lee,
Thank you for your email. In
reference to your first question relating to what agency covers consumer protection for
lending; ASIC regulates misleading or deceptive conduct in relation to a financial service
or product which does include credit facilities. However the Department of Fair Trading
administer the Consumer Credit Code in relation to the conduct of the credit facilities.
In reference to your second question relating to bank mergers and/ or expansion
applications; ASIC regulates company takeovers under the Corporations Act. Banking and
Deposit Taking Institutions are regulated by APRA. The ACCC would also play a role in the
competition issues relating to the merger.
Yours sincerely, Kylie Hughes,
CLIENT CONTACT CENTRE
Accordingly, while ASIC reviews proposed
mergers (including public comments thereon), the consumer protection function as to
LENDING (but not only product offerings) is vested in another agency, the Department of
Fair Trading, which is at http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/287261
A
commenter may wish to comment to both agencies simultaneously.
FOIA: Documents can be requested from here
from ASIC under the Commonwealth Freedom of Information Act: http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byheadline/Contacting+us?opendocument#FOI
Regulatory contact: ASIC: banking, securities and
insurance regulator (business conduct)
Australian Securities and Investment Commission
Level 18, 135 King Street, Sydney, NSW 2000 Australia
Tel: + (613) 9 911 2000
Fax + (613) 9 280 3385
Web: www.asic.gov.au
Established 1998. Total staff of 1152 (with 658 in supervision).
Annual budget: US $77 million.
“The ASIC supervised market behavior and the selling of
financial products by banks, securities, intermediaries and insurance companies.
(Prudential supervision in the responsibility of the APRA, the Australian Prudential
Regulatory Authority, additional contact information below). The ASIC is an independent
statutory authority that administers and enforces laws relating to the formation and
administration of companies, take-overs, securities and futures. Additionally, the ASIC is
responsible for consumer protection issues” (as is the Australian Financial
Institutions Commission (AFIC), Level 17, 300 Queen Street, Brisbane, Queensland,
Australia 4000)
And see, http://www.accc.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/55533;
http://www.consumersonline.gov.au/content/links/
To serve legal documents (this formality generally not necessary for commenting)
-
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byheadline/Serving+legal+documents+on+ASIC+?openDocument
Some recent history: Released in April
1997, the Final Report of the Financial System Inquiry (the Wallis inquiry) proposed
wide-ranging reforms to the structure of financial regulation in Australia. The government
accepted these proposals in September 1997 and undertook an extensive legislative program
to give them substantive effect by July 1, 1998. Under the new framework, an integrated
prudential supervisor, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), was
established to take over responsibility for prudential regulation of banks, previously
held by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA)... The Australian Securities and Investment
Commission (ASIC) has assumed responsibility for market integrity and consumer protection
across the financial system.”
Consumer issues can also be directed to the
Complaints Management Program, on (02) 9911 2624, or directly to emma.heathcote [at]
asic.gov.au
And see, Consumer rights in banking, credit unions and
building societies (online publication)
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/ASIC_PUB.NSF/byid/CA256AF60076AF11CA256AF6007EDDFB?opendocument
ASIC consumer protection / license check: http://www.fido.asic.gov.au/
Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority, Level 26, 400 George Street, Sydney, NWS 2000,
Australia
List of authorized deposit-takers in Australia, from
http://www.apra.gov.au/adi/ADIList.cfm
Australian-owned Banks
Adelaide Bank Limited
AMP Bank Limited
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited
Bank of Queensland Limited
Bendigo Bank Limited
Commonwealth Bank of Australia
Commonwealth Development Bank of Australia Limited (a subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank of
Australia)
Elders Rural Bank Limited
Macquarie Bank Limited
Members Equity Pty Limited
National Australia Bank Limited
St George Bank Limited
Suncorp-Metway Limited
Westpac Banking Corporation
Foreign Subsidiary Banks
Arab Bank Australia Limited
Bank of Cyprus Australia Pty Limited
BankWest (the trading name of Bank of Western Australia Limited, a foreign subsidiary bank
following its sale to Bank of Scotland in December 1995)
Citibank Pty Limited (a subsidiary
of Citibank N.A.)
HSBC Bank Australia Limited
ING Bank (Australia) Limited
Investec Bank (Australia) Limited
Laiki Bank (Australia) Limited
NM Rothschild & Sons (Australia) Limited
Rabobank Australia Limited (a subsidiary of Rabobank Nederland from October 1994)
Branches of Foreign Banks
ABN AMRO Bank N.V.
Bank of America, National
Association
Bank of China (subject to depositor protection provisions of the Banking Act 1959)
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd
Bank One, National Association
(acquired 2004 by J.P. Morgan Chase)
Barclays Capital (the trading name of Barclays Bank plc)
BNP Paribas
Citibank N.A.
Credit Suisse First Boston
Deutsche Bank AG
HSBC Bank plc
ING Bank NV
JPMorgan Chase Bank
Mizuho Corporate Bank, Ltd
Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited
Rabobank Nederland (the trading name of Co-operative Central Raiffeisen-Boerenleenbank
B.A.)
Royal Bank of Canada
Société Générale
Standard Chartered Bank
State Bank of India
State Street Bank and Trust Company
The International Commercial Bank of China
The Royal Bank of Scotland Plc
The Toronto-Dominion Bank
Taiwan Business Bank
UBS AG
United Overseas Bank Limited
WestLB AG
Building Societies: ABS Building Society Ltd; B & E Ltd; Greater Building Society Ltd;
Heritage Building Society Limited; Home Building Society Ltd; Hume Building Society Ltd;
IMB Ltd; Lifeplan Australia Building Society Limited; Mackay Permanent Building Society
Ltd; Maitland Mutual Building Society Limited
Newcastle Permanent Building Society Ltd; Pioneer Permanent Building Society Limited; The
Rock Building Society Limited; Wide Bay Australia Ltd
[Reportedly, "the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority began requiring bank
branch distribution data from all authorized deposit-taking institutions in 2002. The
publicly available data updated annually and lists the type of branch, the services
provided, and whether or not the branch serves a rural or metropolitan area." See,
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. 2003. Points of Presence: Summary of Channels
Offering a Branch Level of Service. Sydney: Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. See
also, Financial Services Consumer Policy Centre, http://www.fscpc.org.au,
woodstockinst.org, and esp. NCRC.org]
Banking law: see, http://www.gbld.org/intermediate.aspx?targ=country_details.aspx&mode=country&countryid=1
Australian
Press Council - Freedom of the Press resources
Human rights: Australian -
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission; and see HumanRightsEnforcement.org
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United States
FFW Campaigns In Other Media
Non-USA/Global
FFW
researches, documents and advocates around financial firms' activities, and how they
affect local communities. FFW files its findings with tribunals, regulatory agencies, and
elsewhere, including on this Web site . Click here to view analyses of several
multinational financial institutions' effects on consumers and the environment, worldwide:
for two examples, Citigroup and HSBC. Click here for some initial brainstorming on the application
of human rights and international law to the global financial services companies, and for
citations (where possible, links)
to resource material. Click here for some September 2004 campaigns -- PNC/Riggs (Finance Watch Reports of August 16,
2004, onwards), J.P. Morgan Chase,
etc.. Click here for an
ongoing report on the campaign to reform anti-money laundering, tax haven, and bank
secrecy laws. Click here for
the Human Rights Enforcement project,
including its new (9/04) criminal
justice and local human rights project. For or with more information, contact us.
For More information, see:
Human Rights & Finance:
Predatory Lending in a Deregulated Network Economy
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