Sydney, 31 July, 2008: The Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA) has welcomed the formation of a Treasury team which will concentrate its efforts on enhancing Australia as a Financial Services Centre.
This initiative was announced today by The Prime Minister, The Hon. Kevin Rudd, at the Financial Services Hub Summit which was held in Sydney.
The ABA notes that overseeing the work of the Treasury team will be the Federal Government’s Financial Sector Advisory Council which can provide valuable input from the banking industry as well as other financial sectors.
Today’s summit follows a meeting last week between representatives from the ABA Council and the Prime Minister, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer and the Minister for Superannuation and Corporate Law to discuss long-term strategies for Australia to take advantage of the opportunities of fast growing markets for financial services in the region.
The ABA provided a report to the Federal Government which made recommendations on changes to the tax regime which will now be considered by the review of the tax system being undertaken by Treasury Secretary, Mr Ken Henry.
David Bell, Chief Executive of the ABA, said: “We hope the Tax Review will consider eliminating withholding tax on foreign raised deposits. This will enable banks to raise deposits overseas for lending within Australia, providing them with better access to liquidity.”
“We also hope the banking industry will play a pivotal role in the joint Federal Government and financial services industry road show to key Asian economies. This will be a great opportunity to showcase the depth of financial services which the Australian banking industry can offer the region.”
The ABA has also identified a growing skills shortage in the financial services sector. It is estimated that by 2012, Australia might need tens of thousands more finance employees to work in this expanding sector.
Mr Bell concluded: “We look forward to consulting with the Federal Government on the skills gaps and other opportunities to enhance Australia as a financial services centre.”
“Great opportunities exist for the provision of financial services to the Asia-Pacific region. We are pleased that Federal Government is committed to accelerating growth and fostering innovation in these services in Australia and across the region.”