Consumer education, self-regulation by banks, and even stronger enforcement efforts by government regulators all have failed to curb incidents of financial misconduct and unethical behaviour. This submission provides a possible solution that has so far been overlooked - sector-wide collective bargaining to establish uniform, ethical pay practices across the industry.

The Financial Markets Authority and Reserve Bank of New Zealand have completed their joint review into the conduct and culture of 11 New Zealand banks. The regulators identified significant weaknesses in the governance and management of conduct risks. These weaknesses have resulted in a number of issues that require remediation.

Market Forces, working with Vietnamese community organisations and other international NGOs, has found that equator principles (EP) signatory banks are violating those principles in their involvement in syndicates funding five Vietnamese coal-fired power stations. In doing so, they are failing the people that the principles seek to protect.

In the right circumstances, superannuation funds could provide capital for growth to SME’s and business more generally, complementing more traditional capital sources such as banks, according to this discussion paper.

This inquiry will have a particular focus on the purchase of foreign cash, and the transfer or remittance of money overseas. It will also consider other ways that consumers and small businesses perform foreign currency transactions, such as via credit, debit or pre-paid travel cards.