The impact of CBA's pay structures on staff have been criticised in a Finance Sector Union report. Credit:Michel O'Sullivan CBA and the broader industry have acknowledged remuneration arrangements may need to change, as the industry faces intense political pressure. However, the bank said the union's specific claims were inconsistent with its own survey of staff this year. The FSU, which has long slammed sales targets as promoting a sales culture within banks, lists conflicted pay as one of its top concerns in the report. "By having a huge emphasis on bonuses I feel it pushes people to focus predominantly on targets rather than the customer and level of service, which goes against the bank's vision," one staff member is quoted as saying. Other quotes, obtained from staff through a questionnaire, say some feel pressure to push products even where it is not in a customer's interests.

"I have seen situations where staff have felt pressure to push products and services to meet expectations that were not in the best interest of the client," one says. The FSU did not say how many staff contributed to the document. A CBA spokeswoman said the FSU's claims from staff did not correlate with its own survey of staff, in which over 80 per cent of staff participated. She said CBA was "fully committed" to an Australian Bankers' Association review of the bonuses and commissions paid to frontline staff, being overseen by former Commonwealth Auditor General Ian McPhee. The review is looking into whether such incentives encourage staff to act against the interests of customers. "If the review finds product-based sales commissions or payments, which could result in poor customer outcomes they will be removed or changed," the CBA spokeswoman said. "Following the completion of the review, CBA is committed to ensuring we have overarching remuneration principles that continue to support good customer outcomes." CBA chairman David Turner last month told the Australian Financial Review there "could be a conflict" in remuneration, although it could be structured in a way to "put it right".

The FSU's national assistant secretary, Geoff Derrick, said the union had kept the identities of staff quoted in the report anonymous because it did not trust CBA's whistleblower policy. He said the report was intended to give its members a voice in the debate about incentives in finance. "We know the ABA is talking about our members and how they're paid, we know the politicians are talking about our members and how they're paid, it's time for our members to have their say on how they're paid and what the culture of work is." The document also pushes for action from CBA on minimum pay rates, training, unpaid overtime, and management culture. Negotiations between CBA and the union for a new enterprise agreement at the bank broke down in 2015. The union's report comes as culture with banks has been thrust into the political spotlight by the Labor party's promise to hold a royal commission into banks. Opposition Leader Bill Shorten on Thursday presented victims of poor financial advice to the national media.

The string of incidents at banks in recent years include CBA's financial planning arm being forced to reopen a compensation scheme for customers who received bad advice, while its CommInsure business denied claims to some customers by using outdated definitions for certain medical conditions. One staff member told the FSU report bank could regain some trust by changing the way it pays staff. "A fairer pay system to delink targets will bring trust back in the bank after the scandals in CommInsure and financial planning," the staff member said.