Hockey attacks ASIC over Comm Bank

Treasurer Joe Hockey has taken aim at the corporate watchdog ASIC, saying it "failed miserably" in the case of the Commonwealth Bank's financial advisers.

The bank has set up an independent review under former High Court judge Ian Callinan after more than 1100 customers lost their savings through poor advice from the CBA's financial advisers.

Labor has called for a royal commission into the debacle.

Mr Hockey, whose mother-in-law suffered losses in the scandal, told the coalition joint party room meeting on Tuesday that while the Commonwealth Bank had suffered damage to its reputation he was unhappy with the way the Australian Securities and Investments Commission had handled the issue.

"ASIC has failed miserably," he told the meeting, adding a strong "cop on the beat" was needed to ensure such events did not occur again.

One coalition MP said his parents had also lost money in the scandal.

The MP told the meeting that if a royal commission did not go ahead, a Senate inquiry should be set up to deal with what he described as "white collar crime".