April, 16, 2010

STEVEN Munchenberg, a NAB escapee who succeeded David Bell as chief executive of the Australian Bankers' Association, appears to have made a whole new bunch of friends among the non-bank financials, who aren't actually his members.On Monday he was reported in our sister publication, the Sydney Daily Telegraph, as saying bank customers being slugged too much should deposit their money elsewhere.

He also said his members might not be the best choice for many customers and bank clients should consider going to a credit union or building society.Several credit unions were moved to cheer yesterday, including the Qantas Staff Credit Union. They didn't get down and dirty on lending rates, etc, but did point out they had 85,000 members and the barriers to entry weren't exactly insuperable.

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