Thursday, 31 July 2025

Bank fees

Aiv PUGLIELLI (North-Eastern Metropolitan) (09:57): In today’s edition of the big bank rort report, people are being ripped off by these profit vultures again. Big banks across this country have charged excessive fees to low-income people, affecting millions. It is noticeable that the big banks only ever own up to their rorts, though, when they are caught, so it makes you wonder what has not been caught yet. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has forced the big banks to repay $93 million to the vulnerable people that they ripped off. Some of the refunds going to impacted people are between $1000 and $5000. To someone on a low income $1000 can be the difference between having a roof over their head or food on the table, and the big banks just took it until they were forced to give it back. A thousand dollars or even $93 million is chump change to these big banks, which are some of the most profitable in the world. They made $44.6 billion in profit last financial year, profit that came directly from ripping people off. We should not be growing the big banks’ already exorbitant coffers. People need this money to live.