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Thank you for the opportunity to appear today on behalf of the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. My name is Alan Kirkland and I have recently joined ob体育 as a Commissioner. I鈥檓 joined in Sydney on Gadigal Lands by my colleague, Nathan Bourne, Senior Executive Leader, Credit, Banking and General Insurance. You will also see our colleague, a Wirlomen Noongar woman Danille Abbott, Senior Manager, Indigenous Outreach Program joining us from WA on Whadjuk Noongar country.
As Committee members would know, ob体育 is Australia鈥檚 corporate, markets,聽financial services and consumer credit regulator.
ob体育 has a range of aims articulated in our governing legislation, this includes to maintain, facilitate and improve the performance of the financial system and entities in it, and promote confident and informed participation in the financial system by investors and consumers.
ob体育鈥檚 formal submission lodged with the inquiry focused on the insights and activities of ob体育鈥檚 Indigenous Outreach Program. Our submission covers the relevance of key learnings outlined in ob体育鈥檚 Indigenous Financial Services Framework, and ob体育鈥檚 understanding of the impact of branch closures in regional and remote areas through the work of our Indigenous Outreach Program.
Our submission also outlines some opportunities for a range of stakeholders, including the banking sector, to provide more accessible and inclusive banking services in these areas. For example, adequate resourcing and service delivery through dedicated First Nations banking channels including First Nations call lines, regular regional pop-up banking services, and ensuring banking staff have appropriate levels of cultural competency training for engaging with their First Nations consumers.
The Committee would also be aware that ob体育 can approve industry codes, upon application, under s1101A of the Corporations Act. On that basis ob体育 is currently consulting on the draft updated Banking Code of Conduct 鈥� a document developed by the Australian Banking Association and enforced by the Banking Code Compliance Committee. The consultation will close on 15 January 2024.
The Banking Code of Practice includes a commitment that signatories to the Code comply with the ABA鈥檚 Branch Closure Support Protocol. We note the updated Branch Closure Support Protocol which came into force on 1 July 2023 governs the steps that banks must follow when closing a bank branch.
We welcome any questions the Committee may have.