THE Australian banking system will be "forever changed" by the coronavirus pandemic, which has slashed banking profits and fuelled a rise in the cashless economy, Australian Banking Association boss Anna Bligh says.
Ms Bligh, who on Thursday will outline on the Hunter Business Chamber's Survive and Thrive webinar how business can access banking support, said it was difficult to predict the outcome of the "extreme shock" to the economy wrought by Covid-19.
However, she said some changes in customer behaviour could be anticipated.
"Some of the changes we are seeing may become permanent or may be a response to COVID-19. With such a large number of Australians self-isolating we are seeing higher reliance on digital channels, while merchants are not handling or refusing to take cash," she said.
"At a macro level, this experience has vindicated the efforts by banks and regulators to ensure Australian banks have capital buffers to be unquestionably strong and I would expect that to become more entrenched in the banking landscape so we are ready if it happens again."
Ms Bligh said banks were working in tandem with government to provide financial relief to businesses: "We are mindful there is a massive amount of information that people are trying to absorb, we'd hate to find out at the end that there were some who didn't know about accessing support."
Noting ANZ, NAB and Westpac's significant drops on profit, Ms Bligh said the nation's banks would act as a shock absorber, however shareholders would not see anticipated returns and banks would need to capital raise to stoke their buffers.
"It is vastly different to GFC where banks and finance sector were the weakling. I heard one CEO describe banks as the economic ICU," she said.
She said banks were heeding the Hayne Royal Commission's message to not only meet regulations of law but "to go beyond that" to meet community expectations.
"Since COVID-19, [banks] they have been very focused on what Australians and communities need ... They are rising to that challenge," she said.
To enrol for the free webinar, go to http://www.businesschamber.com.au/Hunter/Events/Survive-and-Thrive-Webinar-Series
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