'Ban commissions immediately', says ISA

In a statement released yesterday, ISA chief executive David Whiteley reiterated calls to get rid of product incentives and asked banks to stop "watering down" consumer protection legislation.

"The test now for the banks is to demonstrate with action, not words, that they are willing to do the right thing by giving up commissions, going further than FOFA requirements," he said.

"They should act immediately to abandon grandfathered commissions and other revenue-based incentives on all their products and services, including for executives," he said.

Mr Whiteley also levelled criticism against the Life Insurance Framework.

"Furthermore, legislation currently before the Parliament that continues to permit commissions on life insurance products should be amended to ban commissions outright if the banks are serious about protecting consumers," he said.

Yesterday, the Australian Bankers' Association (ABA) announced plans to implement news measures to protect consumer interests and increase transparency and accountability.

The ABA said it would move immediately to set up an independent review of product sales commissions and product-based payments with a view to removing or changing them "where they could lead to poor customer outcomes".