Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan will release his much anticipated banking competition measures within the next week.
Addressing a financial services forum in Brisbane today, Mr Swan said there were ‘‘no silver bullets’’ to boosting banking competition, given the lingering impact of the global financial crisis.
‘‘We’re going to have to take reforms one step at a time, to support smaller lenders,’’ Mr Swan told the Financial Services Council Deloitte Leadership Series Lunch. ‘‘We’re working on measures to make it that little bit easier to walk down the street and get a better deal.’’
He said changes of this nature will take time and it was critical to get these reforms right to maintain stability in the banking sector while making sure it was competitive.
He said he had been working with regulators to get the design of these reforms right and would work closely with industry on their implementation.
‘‘Within a week I will outline a responsible package that will build on our efforts to support competition in the face of the worst global financial crisis in 75 years,’’ he said in his prepared speech.
He said that, while the reforms may not include everything that people wanted, he was determined to build a banking system that did the right thing by Australians, ‘‘whether they are looking to buy a home or invest in a business’’.
AAP