As we progressed through 2018 we became used to - fixated almost - the HRC on the evening news, and front pages of the press the following day. Shock and awe (Orr) at the misdeeds and doings at the big end of town, and great fodder for program producers and print sub-editors.
Less than a month after the release of the final report and for many it's a case of moving onto the next big story - maybe that's just the news cycle of the modern age. However, the ripples - or should we say the tsunami - from the HRC continue to impact the financial services sector even as some are questioning if in the long term the real lessons have been learned.
The Commission had a number of immediate effects, particularly on the reputations, and in several cases the careers, of executives, directors and, in the case of AMP and NAB, the Chair of previously impeccable institutions. Shareholder value was equally shredded, although unlike the careers and reputations, it will no doubt recover over time - with the possible exception of AMP where we don't believe any amount of optimism is justified. If the writing was not already on AMP's wall, yesterday's results would appear to confirm it.
Laws may be tightened, ASIC and APRA's teeth sharpened, but how does one really change culture?
In the case of NAB, Hedge Clippings believes the reason the board was so out of touch with its own business was that they rarely actually experienced it at the coal-face. I am well reminded of, whilst working (thankfully briefly) for NAB's newly acquired broking arm A.C Goode in the late 80's, asking my then NAB director to address a team of remaining client advisors with a few words of encouragement post some necessary thinning of their ranks in the aftermath of the '87 crash:
"I'm afraid I can't do that", he replied. "Why not?", I queried. "Generals can't get down in the trenches." was the response. Of course not - they might get shot! The lesson is that while banking products and markets may change, culture is entrenched.
Whether the Hayne Royal Commission will be sufficient to change culture in the long term remains to be seen. We have after all seen previous enquiries (albeit not Royal Commissions) come to nought or very little. Think the Henry Tax Review - which sadly he'll be less well remembered for than his short time in the sights of Commissioner Hayne and counsel assisting, Rowena Orr.
For some of the best in depth coverage of the HRC and its recommendations (as opposed to or apart from Hedge Clippings' brief weekly rants) you should read 'Cuffelinks' and the excellent opinion of editor Graham Hand. For instance, this piece on the Hayne vs. Henry exchange entitled "Ken forgot it was Kenneth's stage", or this on "8 things the Royal Commission missed".
And on a lighter note, or as we used to call it - "And now for something completely different",we found this clip of Trump's visit to Europe. Particularly relevant as it looks as if a US State of Emergency is looking more likely to be declared.
