The Private Provision of Essential Financial Services and the Corporate Social Responsibilities of Banks and Insurance Companies
Abstract
Lack of access to both basic credit and basic insurance products have been recognised as two key aspects of financial exclusion in Australia. The neoliberal, or economic liberal, approach to corporate regulation, focusing on profit maximisation, free markets, and limited regulatory intervention, has led to suboptimal social outcomes. This is because of the impacts of financial exclusion, and in this article an argument is made for requiring some profit sacrifice by banking and insurance corporations, to provide basic financial services — as essential services — in accordance with their corporate social responsibilities. The article considers regulatory reform to support such profit sacrifice.References
A Articles/Books/Reports
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B Cases
Greenhalgh v Arderne Cinemas [1945] 2 All ER 719
Woolworths v Kelly (1991) 22 NSWLR 189
C Legislation
Companies Act 2006 (UK)
Corporations Act 2001 (Cth)
Delaware Code, ch 1, § 365(a) (‘General Corporations Law’)
D Treaties
Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union [2000] OJ C 364/1 (18 December 2000)
E Other
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providers/Obligations/universal-service-obligation-obligations-i-acma>
Australian Securities and Investments Commission, ‘Payday Lender Nimble to Refund $1.5 Million Following ASIC Probe’ (Media Release, 16-089MR, 23 March 2016) <https://asic.gov.au/about-asic/media-centre/find-a-media-release/2016-releases/16-089mr-payday-lender-nimble-to-refund-15-million-following-asic-probe/>
B Lab Australia & New Zealand, The Benefit Company (2018) <https://www.benefitcompany.org/>
Consumer Action Law Centre, A Fair Go in Insurance (1 April 2011) Consumer Action Law Centre <https://consumeraction.org.au/fair-go-in-insurance/>
Essentials by AAI, Everyone Deserves Simple & Affordable Insurance (2018) Essentials by AAI < https://www.essentialsbyaai.com.au/>
Good Shepherd Microfinance, Compare Loans (2017) <http://goodshepherdmicrofinance.org.au/compare-loans//>
Good Shepherd Microfinance, Insurance for People on Low Incomes Wins Product and Innovation of the Year (21 October 2015) <http://goodshepherdmicrofinance.org.au/media/insurance-for-people-on-low-incomes-wins-product-and-innovation-of-the-year/>
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
