(24 October 2007 – Australia) Future Fund chairman, David Murray, has gone against recent views to dismantle the Four Pillars policy, calling for a look at what is better for customers.The Future Fund chairman and former CEO of Commonwealth Bank said that strong competition, brought on by the Four Pillars, had resulted in industry profit margins to fall to the benefit of customers.
He added that those that want the four pillars policy to change should build a solid argument about what’s going to happen to competition in the interest of the customers.
This is something that he hasn’t seen from any of the banks so far.
Both outgoing chief of Westpac, David Morgan, and chief of NAB, John Stewart, have both been recent advocates of the demolition of the four pillars policy.
The argument given by Stewart was that it would create Australian banks capable of competing on the world stage and therefore maximise the potential of the Australian financial services industry.