MOVE TO A MUTUAL

By Jackie Pearson

Abacus Australian Mutuals has today declared that the best way to improve competition in the Australian banking sector is to "empower consumers" and provide building societies and credit unions with fairer access to funding.
In terms of empowering consumers, yes, it is important that the current Senate Inquiry into banking competition does look at the impediments and complexities created by the big banks to make it extremely difficult for consumer to switch.
In particular it needs to take a hard look at mortgage exit penalties and the "bundling" of mortgages with an array of other products.
Abacus CEO Louise Petscher said the group's submission to the Senate Inquiry recommended the continuation of the government guarantee on deposits up to $1 million and the reinstatement of a flat fee wholesale guarantee to help non-banks compete with the big mortgage providers.
Meanwhile there is one definite way that we can all cement the position of credit unions and building societies as the fifth pillar of Australian banking.
We can take a serious look at the service, interest, fees and deals being offered by our local credit unions. We can compare those deals, closely, with the ones currently provided by the big four. In most instances (there are some inferior credit unions) you'll find the mutual down the road has more to offer than any of the big four.
So why not open an account with a mutual and gradually switch over all your direct credits and debits until you're at a point where you can tell your bank what you really think of it. And end the conversation with "goodbye".