ANZ and NAB, two of Australia's major banks, will not ‘endorse' retail crypto trading

The executives of two of Australia’s “big four” banks have stated they will not allow their retail customers to trade crypto with ANZ, indicating that they are relieved they didn’t go head-first into a cryptocurrency service. The president of the Australian Bankers’ Association (ABA) has said that bitcoin should be regulated in the same manner as other cryptocurrencies, especially with regards to money laundering and terrorist financing concerns.

Maile Carnegie, executive for retail banking at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), said that she had met with many customers and heard their concerns, she said, “the vast majority of them don’t understand really basic financial well-being concepts.” “Are we really going to make it easier and less friction and implicitly endorse speculating on crypto when they don’t understand basic financial well-being? The answer was no.”

According to Carnegie, ANZ considered a cryptocurrency product as early as 2017, stating that she was relieved they didn’t go headfirst into the project.

Angela Mentis, the chief digital officer of National Australia Bank (NAB), was asked if NAB would consider providing crypto trading at the summit. She responded that “not in the immediate future” and “not for retail,” adding that blockchain technology is already being used by institutional clients.

Both stablecoin projects from the major banks will initially be made available to institutional investors looking for a way into the crypto markets. A$DC’s pilot transaction, for example, was worth 30 million Australian dollars (AUD).

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is the only major four bank that has announced the introduction of a retail cryptocurrency trading product. Despite facing obstacles, CBA’s CEO, Matt Comyn, said the firm intends to launch the service at the summit.

The CBA announced in November 2021 that it would work with Gemini to provide crypto trading capabilities. Limited trials will start shortly after, according To the CBA’s statement. News emerged in April that the Australian Securities and Investment Commission had tied up the launch due to regulatory red tape, including consumer protection issues, which prompted the CBA to begin planning a second pilot of the product.

The CBA put its plans for the second pilot on hold indefinitely in late May and stopped crypto trading to those in the first round of tests, with Comyn claiming at the time that the bank was waiting for regulatory clarity. At the summit, Comyn said that if it decided to go ahead with the offering, the bank would seek to limit participation to people who are knowledgeable about risky assets.

In response to the comments from banking executives, Blockchain Assets’ Ian Love wrote, “How will we ever reduce wealth inequality when our regulatory system has financial discrimination at its core? It’s time to remove the ‘Sophisticated Investor’ discrimination rules that advisors use to hide behind and allow everyone access to financial advice and services.”

Crypto Tax Calculator Australia is a much-needed application, that takes the hassle and stress out of tax time. Simply customers just upload their CSV file into the application and then within minutes, are presented with their tax report. This tax report can then be used a tax time. If you are an Australian citizen or resident and have made any crypto currency transactions in the past financial year, we recommend using Crypto Tax Calculator to ensure you stay compliant with Australian taxation laws.