Abbot Govt in secret trade negotiations to deregulate banks and finance

[Beanie Girl]

BREAKING NEWS - FRI 20 Jun 2014

The Age - Secret deal: bank free-for-all
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-po...cret-deal-bank-freeforall-20140619-3ah2w.html

"Leaked WikiLeaks documents reveal the Abbott government is pressing ahead with secret trade negotiations aimed at bringing about radical deregulation of Australia's banking and finance sector.

Highly sensitive details of the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) negotiations, obtained by The Age, show Australian trade negotiators are working on a financial services agenda that could end the Australian government's ''four pillars'' banking policy and allow foreign banks much greater freedom to operate in Australia. It could also see Australians' bank account and financial data freely transferred overseas, and allow an influx of foreign financial and information technology workers.

Experts warn the proposed changes could undermine Australia's capacity to independently respond to and weather any future global financial crisis".
..............

The application of ''most favoured nation'' and ''national treatment'' to the acquisition of financial services providers would preclude an Australian government blocking foreign takeovers of Australian banks, although it is possible that Australia could obtain a ''carve out'' for its four pillars policy preventing the big four banks from merging and for legislation that limits individual shareholdings in Australian financial sector companies to 15 per cent.

The draft text also provides that foreign banks would be allowed to operate directly into Australia, without having to set up a local branch.


The Guardian - Abbott in 'secret trade negotiations' to deregulate banking and finance
http://www.theguardian.com/world/20...egotiations-to-deregulate-banking-and-finance

"Tony Abbott is holding secret trade negotiations to fundamentally deregulate Australia's banking and finance sector, according to WikiLeaks documents.

Foreign banks would be given greater access to the Australian market, local bank accounts and financial data could be transferred overseas, and an influx of foreign financial and information technology workers would be allowed, under proposals being discussed by Australian trade negotiators, Fairfax Media reports".

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https://wikileaks.org/tisa-financial/press.html

According to Wikileaks, the biggest proponents of TISA are Australia, United States, European Union and Canada.

"Press Release - Secret Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) - Financial Services Annex
2014-06-19

"Today, WikiLeaks released the secret draft text for the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) Financial Services Annex, which covers 50 countries and 68.2%1 of world trade in services. The US and the EU are the main proponents of the agreement, and the authors of most joint changes, which also covers cross-border data flow. In a significant anti-transparency manoeuvre by the parties, the draft has been classified to keep it secret not just during the negotiations but for five years after the TISA enters into force.

Despite the failures in financial regulation evident during the 2007-2008 Global Financial Crisis and calls for improvement of relevant regulatory structures2, proponents of TISA aim to further deregulate global financial services markets. The draft Financial Services Annex sets rules which would assist the expansion of financial multi-nationals - mainly headquartered in New York, London, Paris and Frankfurt - into other nations by preventing regulatory barriers. The leaked draft also shows that the US is particularly keen on boosting cross-border data flow, which would allow uninhibited exchange of personal and financial data"

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[Arnoldus]

I suspect that, like the TPP, and the 2 most recently signed free trade agreements with Japan and Korea, it will take many years to reach an agreement and it will be watered down so much as to have little resemblance to the original intent and be of only marginal benefit to our national interests.

 

[Beanie Girl]

Australia's Sovereignty at risk with trade treaty's proposed dispute arbiter

Peter Martin - Economics Economics Editor, The Age

"The most shocking thing about the leaked draft of the Trade in Services Agreement is the innocuously named ''Dispute Settlement'' provision".

The authors, the European Union and the United States, want Australia to let an outside arbitrator readjudicate decisions made by Australian government ministers and the Australian High Court".
...........

"If sovereignty matters for disputes about cigarette packets, it matters more for financial regulation. Australia survived the global financial crisis in part because our banks were in better shape than those overseas. An agreement that forces Australia to allow less-healthy overseas banks to set up here and to take over their Australian competitors exposes us to more risk. That an outside tribunal could force that upon us makes the increased risk hard to escape".
...........

"To let an outside body overrule our decisions about how we govern our financial institutions would be imprudent".

http://www.theage.com.au/federal-po...-proposed-dispute-arbiter-20140619-3ah2m.html


"Trade Minister Andrew Robb says the TiSA negotiations are a ''key focus'' in his policy to ''open as many doors as possible'' for Australian financial services exports".

''Financial services are a key part of the negotiations for us, given the strength of our sector in areas including banking and wealth management, particularly in the major, growing markets of Asia,'' Mr Robb told Fairfax Media."

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/federal-polit...-freeforall-20140619-3ah2w.html#ixzz35KfQPgYY

 

[D.T.]

So?


(10 chars)

 

[Beanie Girl]

I find the following comments in response to the article in The Guardian interesting: -

Longerenong - If these deals were really going to help ordinary Australians they would be done in the open.

Hard to see that Australia could win in any system that will inevitably be skewed to where the biggest blocks of capital are, the US of A.

travellersjoy -

This is about more than banks.

This is about selling out our national sovereignty.

Keep our government in charge and in OUR charge, and we can manage our banks.

Sign these agreements and Wall St and the City of London will run our government as well as they run their own.


Hawknest - The introduction of more competition that will require massive deregulations in our very sound and strong, world renowned financial sector will not be in the best interests of Australia.
These deregulations would include and encourage leveraged takeovers of Australian businesses and result in the reintroduction of a plethora of the bottom of the harbour schemes where assets are stripped and sold only leaving a shell.
These practices have proved very profitable in the past for the principles involved and has been the source of many USA fortunes.
Robb has form in agreeing to free trade agreements that are not entirely in Australia's best interest and he should not be allowed to destroy or weakening Australia' s financial sector.

BJ Ward - Now, this latest Tisa proposal isn't just about foreign banks being allowed more opportunity to trade in Australia. This has the potential to "offshore" the great heap of dollars in Superannuation Guarantee funds sloshing around the system, replacing them with "derivatives" and some of the other crooked financial instruments that cost not a few local councils so dearly in the last meltdown. These flights of fancy should, of course, have been outlawed after the GFC but guess what - they're still out there, if under different names. And they'll be just as worthless as the last lot were.

Our financial system hasn't been globalised enough yet. The corporates can't plunder it as they have Greece's system, or Spain's.

Commentariat - We could end up with a foreign banking takedown of Australia, like Goldman Sachs did with Greece, deregulation of the banking sector - uninhibited cross-border data flows of highly sensitive consumer information.

These multinational banks like to put whole countries on the hook for debt they have no scruples and will gladly see people throwing themselves off buildings in financial disgrace.


BlackAbbot

The text also contains a non-specific dispute settlement clause - an increasingly contentious practice in trade pacts because, opponents of trade liberalisation argue, such clauses undermine national sovereignty by allowing the policy decisions of governments to be tested in the courts.​

Scenario.
US company sees opportunity for a fast buck in Oz. (so far nothing unusual). US company gets knocked back as the deal is not legal under Oz law. (again nothing unusual, US has some very liberal laws when it comes to grabbing cash).
US company takes Oz government to US court as Oz government law does not suit US company. US company mentions TISA, US judge smiles and nods. Judge awards US company Tasmania, Victoria and NSW as penalty and costs. Oz law and government policy overruled by US judge.

Hmmm. Can't happen. No. It won't until it does.

 

[Ausprop]

awesome! this will drive this country to new heights... the libs need to keep moving forward with reform, you can't just close down dead industries and then sit around. The labour govt sold Australians out during the GFC and this is just the tonic to fix some of the problems that resulted.

now to break up this supermarket situation...

 

[Angel]

"An agreement that forces Australia to allow less-healthy overseas banks to set up here and to take over their Australian competitors exposes us to more risk. That an outside tribunal could force that upon us makes the increased risk hard to escape".


Doesn't mean any customers will be forced to use these companies. More scaremongering to sell newspapers?

 

[Macca]

Our banks are among the most profitable in the world because they are protected and propped up by government legislation. That profit goes to the shareholders, should they collapse the government ( aka "us") will refinance them.

Their profit margin between deposits and loans is the best in the world, we are paying through the nose for a protected industry. Why remove protection from every industry but the banks ?

 

[HeadsOnBeds]

As long as they bring those cheap 30 year fixed loans that the US enjoys I say bring it on. Lol

 

[willair]

As long as they bring those cheap 30 year fixed loans that the US enjoys I say bring it on. Lol

I don't think it will happen,unless you have a lack of awareness of the past record of some of the O-S banks and their poor record predictions on forecasting the way different entities of investment have done over the past ten years..

 

[Beanie Girl]

Here's a bit more information on TiSA from The Age (Fairfax).
Only one chapter has been leaked/released by WikiLeaks - financial services including banking and insurance.
Insurance would mean car, house, life, TPD etc, I guess.
I'm wondering if Medicare would come under 'insurance'?
If I was a US private health insurer, I'd be champing at the bit to get in on the action on Medicare.
Dismantle Medicare, ensure access by Private Health insurers in collusion with Big Pharma to provide health services and medicine to the Australian consumer. Remove the ability of the Australian Government to bargain collectively on prices of medication/pharamaceuticals, radiography, blood, diagnostic tests etc. Drive prices of medicines up rather than down
BILLION dollar industry, Mega bucks to be made.
Removes the responsibility of Govt to look after an aging population, less taxes need to be collected

 

[Ausprop]

this is getting exciting... insurance as well! this could be a killer move that extends this country's incredible run of prosperity well into the future. throw in a recovery in resources and we are back in boom times

 

[Macca]

Perhaps a bit more competition would be a good thing, they are making their profits of us

<<The Bank of International Settlements (BIS) found that Australia?s major banks saw a higher rise in pre-tax earnings as a share of their total assets compared to banks in other developed countries.

Fairfax Media reports that the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, ANZ and National Australia Bank have continued their run as the developed worlds most profitable for four years straight.>>

https://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/a...fitable-in-the-developed-world-004909108.html