Update from FSC CEO Sally Loane

To risk stating the bleeding obvious, our sector is going through a critical and testing time. Not only with the Hayne Royal Commission, but with the tectonic shifts in ownership underway via a raft of mergers and acquisitions. Not to mention several years of increasing scrutiny, legislative and regulatory changes and tougher penalties.

Your FSC is standing with all of you, our members large and small, as we seek to strengthen trust and drive transformation for our sector. The financial wellbeing of every Australian must be the core of our purpose. I will have more to say about how we can achieve this at our Summit, on 25-26 July – which I urge every one of you to attend. 

I am delighted to announce that our keynote Summit speaker will be The Honourable Neville Owen, who conducted a two year long Royal Commission into the collapse of the HIH insurance group, Australia’s worst corporate failure. His Honour will reflect on the lessons from HIH, governance, regulation and culture. There is much to learn from recent history.

You can all take part in a critical discussion on trust and transformation – how have other sectors weathered the very worst of times and emerged even stronger? 
Other Summit speakers include:

• ASIC Chairman James Shipton
• AFCA Chairman the Hon. Helen Coonan
• Deputy Chairman of the Productivity Commission, Karen Chester
• The Minister for Revenue & Financial Services, the Hon Kelly O’Dwyer MP
• The Shadow Treasurer, the Hon Chris Bowen MP
• Future Fund CEO David Neal

Fund managers please note the Summit will open with a brilliant international panel who will discuss the impact of roiling global markets which react to Trump tweets and Putin moves. We will take deep dives into some of our most challenging regulatory and legislative issues like RG97 and CCIVs. The new(ish) world of ESG, impact investing and green bonds will be explored.

You should take advantage of the special early bird discount for The Summit. It is a must attend.

POLITICS –ENGAGE EARLY & OFTEN
Closer to home, the looming Federal election represents one of the starkest choices for the financial services sector.

The clear differences in the policy plans announced by Labor and the Coalition so far that directly impact our industry is the clearest signal yet that superannuation and tax treatment of savings will be key battlegrounds for each party’s election campaigns.

We need to engage even more deeply with our law makers in Canberra. The next date for your diaries is Wednesday 20 June for the BT Political Series Parliamentary cocktails in Canberra. This is an invitation-only event, which provides our members a valuable informal setting to raise policy issues with politicians from all major parties and the cross bench right up to Cabinet and shadow Cabinet ministers.

The FSC enjoys good relations with the government and the opposition but this can only continue with your continued support of events like the most recent FSC BT Political Series in Sydney, where we heard from Senator Kristina Keneally and Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen.

We had record numbers in attendance for the recent FSC Life Insurance Conference and the feedback many of you have sent back to my team has praised the quality of the debate taking place during the day owing to the seniority of the executives in attendance

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I thank you for ongoing support of the FSC. We will continue to do our utmost to inform and shape the policy agenda and take the financial services sector forward.

Sally Loane is the CEO of the Financial Services Council.