Bligh won't stall bank probe push: Labor

Labor says it will continue to push for a royal commission into banks, as fallout continued over the appointment of a party veteran to lobby on behalf of the financial sector.

Former Queensland Labor premier Anna Bligh has been appointed chief of the Australian Bankers' Association.

Some government MPs say the "political appointment" lends weight to the argument the prime minister should consider exempting banks from a proposed corporate tax cut.

Labor financial services spokeswoman Senator Katy Gallagher said the appointment had sent the government, which has been resisting a royal commission, into "meltdown".

"Families are losing their life savings, farmers are being sent to the wall, small businesses are going under, and the coalition is obsessing over petty issues like who got what jobs. It's pathetic," she said.

"It doesn't matter to us who the banks' lobbyist is. A slick PR campaign won't fix the rorts and the rip offs.

"We need a royal commission into the banking and financial sector."

Treasurer Scott Morrison gave a lukewarm response to Ms Bligh's appointment.

"Only they can explain that."

However he said he would deal with the ABA professionally, regardless of who's in that job.