11th Question

Will the Royal Commission recommend to the Chair of the Three Financial Regulators to provide Minutes of their quarterly meetings.

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Supporting Documented Evidence re 11th Question

1.         Below are extracts from the Productivity Commission's Draft Report titled "Competition in the Australian Financial System" dated Jan 2018 - 401 pgs - accessible at Competition in the Australian Financial System:

The CFR's consideration of competition analysis (and other market interventions) should be minuted and published, as the RBA Board meetings are. An assessment that analyses in depth the competition implications of a proposed regulatory intervention should be discussed at the CFR meeting prior to the intervention starting. Regulators should, in their Statement of Expectations, be required to consider amending policies to alleviate adverse impacts on competition."

2.        It is an indictment that Three Parliamentary Appointed Bodies That Regulate Financial Services that are bound to "act in the public interest" do not publish Minutes of the quarterly meetings of the Council of Financial Regulators which would provide an audit trail that these three regulators are, in fact, "acting in the public interest", particularly as the RBA Board Meetings are Minuted.  One ponders the reason.  Perhaps Dr. Norman Edey would assert that they sometimes discuss commercially sensitive matters, but Minuting discussions re information sharing regarding the Counsel's responsibilities, in particular "to discuss regulatory issues", should not be commercially sensitive.  And if it is, then we all have a problem with the efficacy of our Three Parliamentary Appointed Financial Services Regulates.