"If there is to be a banking royal commission, may it shine the spotlight on three of Banking Day's favourite topics," we asked, taking an optimistic view, back in early April (see Labor's banking inquiry shemozzle).These we listed as: â€¢    the industry cost structure; â€¢    the post 1980s financial deregulation industry structure, featuring a wave of demutualisations, privatisations and then wealth and banking mergers, which was a topic David Murray's panel for the recent Financial System Inquiry found of little interest; and â€¢    "uncovering all the facts on the Australian banking system's near death experience in 2008." The latter, we wrote, may be "a study bound to be disconcerting for all those that have hooked their reputations to the BS and bulldust story of Australian exceptionalism during the great recession." Banking Day has called before for a "DFAT-style 'select documents' release to foster understanding of the shaky history of Australian banking." Cranking up interest in that stream of work is about the best to be hoped for as MPs set out this week to spar with sector CEOs.