This morning, prime minister Malcolm Turnbull announced a royal commission into misconduct in the financial services sector.



The commission will report back in February 2019, and will examine misconduct by financial services entities and their employees, and the adequacy of Australian laws and regulations over the sector.

It took the PM about five minutes into his press conference to get to this particular detail, after going on about all the things the government was already doing and how a royal commission hadn't been necessary.



He didn't seem too keen on it, though, and made it obvious that it was all about politics.

"Now this royal commission’s establishment will end the uncertainty and speculation," he said. "It will conduct an inquiry in a thorough and conventional fashion and in so doing safeguard the integrity of our banks and our other financial institutions, thereby ensuring Australia’s confidence and trust in this critical industry is well founded."

The PM was facing the prospect of the Nationals teaming up with the Greens, Labor, and some of the cross bench, to pass legislation for a banking inquiry in the Senate and potentially in the House of Representatives, while the government doesn't have an absolute majority.



And then the banks came out on Thursday and backed the royal commission they had long opposed.