Sep 23, 2026 · 44 min · 10 segments
Four banks. One policy. And a financial crisis that changed the world. Australia’s “Four Pillars” policy was designed to keep our biggest banks apart, but did it also help make them stronger? In this…
Our big banks, should there be competition? Is it too central? Do they have too much control? Maybe we should explain that for our foreign listeners.
Our foreign listeners? Well, away you go,
I'm just a humble constituent of the seat of Mitchell, mate.
I don't know any more than you on the big banks.
So it's actually not even a – it's not a policy for a fact.
Sorry, it's a policy stance, not law.
It's an informal
government policy.
So the government's articulated a position that there should be no fewer than four major banks to maintain competition rather than a formal regulation.
Okay.
which flies in the face of the free market.
They would hate to see CommBank actively working to take over one of the other three or any other combination thereof.
They've landed on a position where they believe falls the right number, maintains a level of competition, avoids fragility in the sector.
But at the same time, there are some downsides to limiting access for consumers in terms of banking products to the big four, because you're literally on a hamster wheel of the products offered by the big four.
So if there's a million mortgages in the Australian market, I'd say close to 80% would be the big four.
And as you spin off one, you probably go to another one of the big four.
And so there is the Australian market in terms of banking.
The big four banks own market share, have got the leverage, can squeeze other players out, can buy little players out.
Correct.
They're not
stopped from buying smaller banks or non-bank competitors.
And we're all kind of comfortable with that.
sort of because in the GFC it's probably one of the rare times it probably played out to say okay we've got a more secure financial sector but overall I think it really just limits competition that's why we pay through the nose for absolutely everything in Australia our mortgage rates credit cards personal loans anything I think that we we need some more competition in this part of the world So to your point about the
Our big banks, should there be competition? Is it too central? Do they have too much control? Maybe we should explain that for our foreign listeners.
Our foreign listeners? Well, away you go,
I'm just a humble constituent of the seat of Mitchell, mate.
I don't know any more than you on the big banks.
So it's actually not even a – it's not a policy for a fact.
Sorry, it's a policy stance, not law.
It's an informal
government policy.
So the government's articulated a position that there should be no fewer than four major banks to maintain competition rather than a formal regulation.
Okay.
which flies in the face of the free market.
They would hate to see CommBank actively working to take over one of the other three or any other combination thereof.
They've landed on a position where they believe falls the right number, maintains a level of competition, avoids fragility in the sector.
But at the same time, there are some downsides to limiting access for consumers in terms of banking products to the big four, because you're literally on a hamster wheel of the products offered by the big four.
So if there's a million mortgages in the Australian market, I'd say close to 80% would be the big four.
And as you spin off one, you probably go to another one of the big four.
And so there is the Australian market in terms of banking.
The big four banks own market share, have got the leverage, can squeeze other players out, can buy little players out.
Correct.
They're not
stopped from buying smaller banks or non-bank competitors.
And we're all kind of comfortable with that.
sort of because in the GFC it's probably one of the rare times it probably played out to say okay we've got a more secure financial sector but overall I think it really just limits competition that's why we pay through the nose for absolutely everything in Australia our mortgage rates credit cards personal loans anything I think that we we need some more competition in this part of the world So to your point about the
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