Shorten eyes retail super fund trustees

Financial regulators should be able to force bank-owned superannuation funds to appoint independent trustees, federal Labor leader Bill Shorten suggested.

The opposition leader told a conference in Melbourne there appeared to be a conflict between banks running super funds in the interests of members and generating profit for shareholders.

"One idea that has emerged from some quarters is should banks actually be in superannuation?" Mr Shorten said on Thursday night. "One idea, and it's only an idea ... you could require for-profit funds to outsource the trusteeship to genuinely independent organisations".