In the 47th Parliament the Treasurer, the Hon Dr Jim Chalmers MP, asked the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics to hold annual public hearings with Australia’s four major banks, to examine how the major banks are balancing the interests of a diverse set of stakeholders, including borrowers, depositors, shareholders and the wider community. The committee will considerꓽ

• interest rates on deposit and loan products, including the influence of competition, profit margins and developments in bank funding

• the financial position of borrowers, including their experience in relation to the interest rate environment and inflation

• the fair treatment of bank customers, including the operation of dispute resolution and remediation processes

• the ongoing implementation of recommendations of the Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry that are relevant to the banking sector

• the role of banks in supporting the flow of credit, including to small businesses

• banks’ operational performance, including online service outages and cyber security resilience

• how banks are responding to the risks and opportunities of climate change, and how the banking sector can support Australia’s progress toward climate and other sustainability-related goals, and

• actions being taken by banks to protect customers from scams, including on scam prevention, detection and response, and how these compare to actions overseas.