The Financial System Inquiry issued their final report earlier today. The extended document has set out to establish a direction for the future of Australia’s financial system. Not a small task. Expectations are the below document is a “blueprint” for the financial system down under. This approach is not new, in fact there have been previous inquiries that have been described as“catalysts for major economic reform”. Australia is a relatively small country by population yet it maintains the 12th largest national economy by nominal GDP (2012) – making it one of the largest capitalist economies on the planet. The previous inquiries enveloped diverse reform and are said to have “underpinned Australia’s economic stability and growth over the past thirty years”. In fact authorities believe the willingness to reform has been a reason Australia “weathered the global financial crisis” rather well. The below report is the first of its ilk in 16 years.
As part of the report the financial innovation of Crowdfunding is referenced in multiple sectors. The authors advocate;  Reforms should be made to remove obstacles to SME financing, including facilitating crowdfunding and reducing information imbalances. Crowdfunding is viewed as “graduating” and the review supports facilitating this along with other new forms of finance. To quote the document;
The 3rd chapter of the document incorporates an entire section to the various forms of Crowdfunding including Securities based and Peer to Peer lending. The present environment is described as one that inhibits the development of crowdfunding. The authors advocate addressing these shortcomings seeing funding SME’s as “essential to facilitate productivity growth and job creation in the Australian economy”. The chapter notes the progress in the UK and New Zealand (the mention of the US of A only points out that regulators are running a bit late) While acknowledging the associated risk, in summary the Murray team states;
Posted from : http://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2014/12/58690-australia-financial-system-inquiry-issues-final-report/ |
Blog >
The report was delivered to the Australian Treasurer towards the end of November. It makes “recommendations to promote the efficiency, resilience and fairness of the financial system”. The authors set out to promote a vibrant and growing economy to improve the living standards of all Australians. The committee tasked with the review was chaired by David Murray, previously CEO of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The document outlines 44 recommendations on the Aussie financial system based on five surrounding themes:
It should be noted that The Treasury has announced a consultation document on the inquiry’s recommendations and that no action will be taken before feedback from stakeholders are received. The closing date for comments is March 31, 2015.