Super friend Fraser picked for governance review
The wrangle over the governance of some superannuation funds and the prospect of this debate advantaging banks continues to show little promise for the latter.Efforts by the Federal Government to mandate a regime of independent directors for industry super funds has ground to a halt, with several cross-bench senators yesterday confirming they would not support the Government's proposal to change the structure of superannuation boards.Crossbench senators John Madigan, Glenn Lazarus, and Jacqui Lambie instead endorsed an industry-led review of not-for-profit fund governance.Industry Super Australia and the Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees quickly announced they would commission a review by former RBA Governor and Treasury Secretary Bernie Fraser "to lead the development of a best practice governance code of conduct for not-for-profit super funds by 30 April 2016," in the words of the media release.The release said the review would "assess global best practice pension fund governance and develop a Code of Conduct which would be mandatory for ISA and AIST member funds and complement APRA prudential standards and guidance."Fraser "will lead a panel of governance experts" but there is no word yet on who these experts will be.