Australia's big four banks have motored through Australia's cost-of-livig crisis, supported by profits measured in the billions. ANZ, Westpac and NAB have each notched up half-yearly profits of $3 billion-plus. CommBank has declared a sixmonth profit of $5.15 billion.
That may be great news for bank shareholders, but it's not always so rewarding for their customers. Many of them may be galled to see their bank reporting 10-digit profits while personally feeling the squeeze of higher home loan rates and returns on savings that have failed to keep pace.
For consumers fed up with helping their bank earn bumper profits at a time when many of them are tightening their belts, there is an alternative.
“Australian banks are divided into two models,” says Peter Lock, chief executive officer of Heritage and People's Choice.
