Australian Securities and Investments Commission is still asleep at the wheel. It was the case when HIH went belly-up in 2001 and big bad Smokin' Jo Hockey was the person to whom ASIC reported any financial concerns. Here it is again sipping on coffee in its plush offices instead of keeping a watchful eye on the corporate cowboys trading in the guise of banks.

Regulators 'not awake' as banks behaved 'appallingly': Costello

Former federal treasurer Peter Costello has issued a scathing critique of Australia's corporate regulators, saying they were "not awake at the wheel" as the big banks behaved appallingly.

Mr Costello said the bank royal commission would probably mean tougher regulation and lower profitability for the bank sector, but he saved his biggest serve for the likes of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) which reported to him in his days as treasurer.

Mr Costello said evidence presented at the banking royal commission made it clear that some of the big banks behaved "appallingly".

"It's clear that the people that were responsible for administering the banks probably haven't done their jobs," Mr Costello said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-29/where-were-the-regulators-asks-costello-ab...

Thanks scoop. Anyone within the citadel known as ASIC facing the chop or a reduction in salary?

Chaps just don't spy on other chaps, you realise?

Considering that all of ASIC's investigators would have been appointed under the present Tory Government(s), I wonder why the blame isn't being shafted home to the Tories?

Oh, that's right, you're both Tories, aren't you?  Oh, dearie, dearie, me.  Sorry for my mistake, whyever did I think the Tories would accept responsibility for what their Government(s) have done.   

Brian Ross wrote on Aug 31^st, 2018 at 3:01pm:


Dearie , dearie me, Bwian is home early from school today.

Could it be that the fabulous Hawke-Keating period created a monster when the Commonwealth Bank was privatised? Maybe the CBA, encouraged by its new ALP inspired charter led the way in its cowboy style behaviour.

The 'People's Bank': the privatisation of the Commonwealth Bank and the case for a new publicly-owned bank

Among the policies for which the Hawke-Keating Labor government is remembered, two of the most prominent were privatisation and financial deregulation. The combination of these two policies was symbolised by the conversion of the Commonwealth Bank from the 'people's bank' to a private organisation

devoted to maximising returns to its shareholders and managers, and free of any social or community obligations.

Even more than financial deregulation, the Hawke-Keating government's embrace of privatisation represented a fundamental break with the traditional policies of the Labor Party. The political damage associated with privatisation was immense. Not only was the sale of 'icons' like the Commonwealth Bank regarded with immense hostility, even in conservative sections of the electorate, but these actions, taken in breach of the most explicit promises, destroyed Labor's credibility in arguing against the sale of Telstra in the 1996 election campaign.

http://www.uq.edu.au/economics/johnquiggin/JournalArticles01/CBAPrivatisation01....

Thanks Bob and Paul.