Consumers need more information about bank sub-brands: Poll

10 March 2015

New research released yesterday has shown that most Australians are not aware that many brands like St George, Aussie and Bankwest are major bank owned and controlled. The national poll of more than 1000 people, commissioned by the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) and carried out by Essential Research, also found that eight in ten Australians want more prominent disclosure of the fact major banks own these brands.

Reacting to the research’s findings, Chief Executive COBA Mark Degotardi said “rules should be put in place to stop big banks camouflaging their true identity.”

Highlighting the recommendations of the Murray Report which advocated greater transparency regarding ownership and alignment in the financial sector, Mr Degotardi pointed out that “Australians just want to know who they’re actually banking with, that’s not much to ask, and at the moment that’s unclear. The Murray Report recommendations must be acted on to increase transparency, restore consumer trust and promote real competition in our financial system.”

The BCCM highlighted the need to redress information asymmetry by providing more transparency in the ownership of sub-brands, in its submission to the Financial System Inquiry.

“Consumers require market information in order to act on consumer choice. Whilst regulation in markets might be seen as a brake on genuine competition, so too lack of access to full and transparent market information might be seen to create an information asymmetry which acts as a brake on the exercise of consumer choice to drive a competitive market.”