“I will no doubt be introduced to the new CEO when he starts [on July 3] and take it from there,” Longo said.
Meanwhile, The Australian on Tuesday reported ASIC was also investigating allegations ANZ incorrectly calculated interest on thousands of customer savings accounts, and the bank’s hardship provisions. Longo said he could not comment, other than to say ASIC “maintained a program of institutional supervision for all the banks”.
But he put the entire industry – as well as super funds and insurers – over their handling of customer hardship applications, outlining it as a priority for ASIC in 2025.
“When you really step back about what sectors really affect all Australians … there’s banking – we all have to have a bank account – there’s insurance – it’s pretty hard to get through life without at least one insurance policy – and there’s superannuation – we all should have a superannuation account,” Longo said.
“The way that works for ordinary Australians is hugely important. So we’re rather concerned that Australians are being let down in the insurance sector and superannuation sectors at the moment.”
Longo said ASIC would focus on insurers’ handling of claims, including transparency on premiums, misleading loyalty discounts, and being better prepared for natural disasters; while super funds will be scrutinised over their handling of members’ retirement savings.
The regulator last year sued super fund Cbus for alleged systemic failures in handling members’ insurance claims; took insurer QBE to court for allegedly misleading customers over pricing discounts; and launched litigation against National Australia Bank for allegedly failing to appropriately deal with hardship complaints.
It started 109 investigations in the final six months of 2024, up 31 per cent on the year before, and recorded 138 successful summary prosecutions, up 33 per cent compared to the previous year.
Longo said ASIC, which is still being criticised for being too meek, had finally become the “confident, modern and ambitious” regulator it had set out to achieve following the banking royal commission.
“I really feel that going into 2025 the agency is very much on the front foot, and my priority, so far as the agency is concerned, is to keep it there, is to consolidate and embed that progress,” Longo said.
Longo also highlighted the importance of ASIC’s work on digital transformation, saying this was an “existential risk” for the regulator. He said that over time, ASIC would become less relevant if it failed to make the necessary investments in technology, and it was talking to the government about funding for this purpose.
ANZ declined to comment.
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