Financial services regulatory review from Labor

Some sort of inquiry into financial sector regulation is in the wind if the Labor Party wins Australia's general election this weekend.  Whether this would mushroom into a major rethink and review of financial architecture (such as merging ASIC and APRA) isn't clear but unlikely.

Simplification of disclosure documents is one theme informing the proposed review.

"We will go through each financial services product to work out a simple, standard form that investors can use to compare products. It will be a top priority for us in government," Sherry said.

Labor has studiously avoided any emphasis on any aspect of financial services in the course of the campaign and studiously avoided anything that could be construed as bank bashing or complaints over the pricing or profitability of bank products.

This election there's no suggestion from the ALP of a policy on a universal service obligation (such as a basic bank account) that would apply to the five largest banks.