Banks 'profiteering' with $212 billion gouge, union leader says

Banks and insurance companies are "profiteering" and "price gouging" Australians by pushing interest rates sky-high, the Australian Council of Trade Unions claims.

The ACTU said data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicated the financial industry had recorded a 46 per cent increase in profits since March 2021.

"Banks and insurance companies are having a lend of Australians," ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said.

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"They have put up prices, not because they need to, but to fatten their profits."

She accused banks and financial companies of fuelling Australia's grinding inflation.

"Since March 2021, the banks have made $212 billion from raising people's interest payments, while insurance companies have hiked insurance premiums by 36 per cent," she said.

In February 2024, former ACCC chair Professor Allan Fels published his final report on price gouging and unfair pricing around the country.

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The report highlighted the use of "confusion pricing", which involves confusing consumers with complex price structures and difficult price comparisons, along with other practices used by businesses Australia-wide.

McManus said unions had "no tolerance" for businesses "cashing in on the struggles of working people".

"Big businesses like banks and insurance companies are keeping inflation higher than it should be and they need to be held responsible for this," she said.

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