The AFR View
Branchless banks should not have to prop up bricks-and-mortar rivals
Before the government imposes a new levy to keep regional branches open and head off a Coalition attack, the competition and innovation effects must be weighed.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is considering hitting the banks with a new regional banking levy to help branches stay open in the bush. Ahead of a tight election next year, political considerations are in play. In May, a Senate inquiry recommended increasing by 10 per cent the existing $1.6 billion annual bank levy to pay for government-funded shopfronts providing in-person banking services in rural and regional areas.
(The original levy was imposed by then-treasurer Scott Morrison on the big banks in 2017 to help with budget repair and “because nobody likes you”.)
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