I recall, as a child, accompanying my mother to the bank with its polished wooden floors. I remember the bank manager greeting her by name, with a benign smile in my direction. The atmosphere was formal and polite. There was an almost reverential respect for the bank and toward the customers. Banks in the 1960s may not have been worthy of the respect they enjoyed. I was a child, with no awareness of the seedy underbelly of financial services that I would encounter as an adult.



Fast forward several decades, to the first week in October 2016: the government’s first annual review into the four major banks. Touted by the prime minister as a superior alternative to a royal commission, it has the whiff of the similar phrase used by financial advisers about agribusinesses being a superior alternative to superannuation. We know how that fairytale ended.

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CEOs dutifully filed in, apologising for past wrong-doings, vowing they have learnt their lessons and are diligently addressing “poor customer service and outcomes”. Everyone wants to look toward a brighter future as they clamber over tens-of-thousands of ordinary hardworking Australians: whose lives have been irrevocably altered in this “lucky” country, described by Greg Medcraft, chairman of Asic, as “a paradise for white collar crime.”

I am a victim of an accountant and financial adviser, who issued deceptive advice, and acted unconscionably; placing me in multi products through multi lenders, leaving me in debt of $640,000. Over eight long years of seeking justice and redress, I have met hundreds of other victims. Good, decent, honest, hardworking people who sought professional services to be financially responsible.

I have seen harrowing outcomes firsthand. People have lost their homes and been forced into bankruptcy. Superannuation and life savings have been stolen. Careers, and capacity to work, have been severely compromised. Families are torn apart. Mental, emotional and physical health suffers. As a trauma counsellor of 30 years, I recognise severe anxiety disorders, sleep disorders, depression, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance abuse. Three suicide attempts have been disclosed to me. I know of several actual suicides.

Victims of white collar crime are forgotten, faceless and often blamed. The government’s annual review ensures we remain unheard. Had victims been invited to participate, we would have spoken about numerous other lenders and various agribusinesses. We would have countered comments by Graham Hodges, deputy CEO of ANZ, regarding the Timbercorp hardship program, which is not how the victims see it.

Broader issues, such as the connection between banks, finance companies, product issuers, financial advisers and liquidators remain untouched by the review.

Asic and the Financial Ombudsman Service have proven to be inadequately equipped and resourced. Lawyers taking cases on a no-win no-fee basis demand hundreds of thousands of dollars in upfront non-refundable disbursements. Another law firm pocketed $20m of a $23m settlement.

Frequently, an adviser has inadequate insurance, or enters insolvency also declaring personal bankruptcy. Assets are spirited away through family trusts and offshore entities beyond creditors’ reach. Then the liquidators swoop in to pick the last flesh off victims’ bones. These people have no recourse to meaningful justice. Avenues for restitution, and at minimum, a retrospective compensation scheme of last resort, are required immediately.

Calls for a royal commission grow stronger, supported by Labor, Greens, the Nick Xenophon Team, One Nation, independents and within the ranks of the Coalition. Government and unsurprisingly, banks, think otherwise.

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Sixty-eight per cent of Australians disagree with the government. Four out of five Australians do not trust the banks for financial advice. The crisis of confidence in the financial sector requires transparency and radical overhaul.

Typically sanitised as “poor”, “inappropriate” or “misleading” financial advice, these terms imply “responsible” people could have averted predatory and corrupt practices. White collar crime is far bloodier, violent and life-altering than the language conjures. I live it. I have witnessed it. I am still going backwards financially eight years later, along with tens of thousands of Australians. We are denied justice.

History demonstrates if something is not faced and addressed it is doomed to repetition. The government’s annual review of the four major banks ensures the buck will not stop with CEOs. Instead, it will continue to slip into their vast, deep pockets: awarded obscene salaries and performance-based bonuses.

Australian of the year, Lieutenant-General David Morrison said, “The standard you walk by is the standard you accept.” Government’s primary duty is to protect its citizens. It must not walk past its obligation.