Australian Superannuation Companies
Deregulation and the Emergence of Bancassurance Models
Since the deregulation of the Australian financial sector, the major banks' desire to develop bancassurance models has played an important role in shaping the life insurance industry. A large percentage (63%) of the Australian banking sector is shared between its top four banks-Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Westpac, National Australia Bank (NAB), and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ).
However, prior to the 1980s these colossi of the local market were not able to offer insurance products as a result of strict domestic regulation. For a period of 35 years, the Australian banking sector was one of the most heavily regulated in the world, as the government operated through the banks to implement monetary policy. While the tight regulation did not directly affect life insurers, it did prevent banks and other financial institutions from entering the industry.
