SYDNEY: A major shake-up of Australia’s massively profitable banking sector is on the cards as a landmark inquiry into abuses in the financial services industry releases its final report Monday.
Sweeping legislative and regulatory changes, a crackdown on the bulging pay packets of bankers and even criminal charges against senior executives could be among the recommendations issued by the royal commission.
Major lenders including the country’s “big four” banks — among the developed world’s most wealthy — have been under scrutiny in recent years, amid allegations of dodgy financial advice, life insurance and mortgage fraud.
Some unscrupulous brokers were found charging customers long after they were dead.
The wide-ranging inquiry was established in late 2017 to quell public anger over their misbehavior, and a preliminary report released in September slammed the banks’ culture of greed.
“I think there will be some substantive changes ... around strengthening the regulators and increasing the punishments (for misbehavior),” RMIT University’s Warren Staples said.
Australia’s conservative government has been cautious in committing to implement the report’s recommendations in advance, while the left-leaning opposition Labour Party said it would adopt the suggestions in full.
But with a federal election due by mid-May, the potentially explosive findings and recommendations are broadly expected to be embraced by legislators eager to cash in on the public’s anti-bank sentiments.
In the firing line will be the regulators, viewed as being too soft on corporations, and standards in the home lending, financial planning, insurance and pension sectors.
The commission’s hearings exposed poor behavior by financial houses and executives with rules repeatedly breached, personal gains prioritized over clients’ interests and loans given to customers who could not repay them.
These sectors are expected to be reined in through tighter standards such as increased penalties for misconduct and greater oversight of behavior.
The recommendations could go as far as banning certain types of sales practices and removing underperforming pension funds.
Regulators the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) and Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) are tipped to be given more powers to chase wrongdoers, while also being subjected to performance reviews.
Shares in the major banks have weakened in recent days ahead of the report’s release, but Bell Potter banking analyst TS Lim said investors had priced in any potential bad news.
“I think it’s probably going to be a limited response... my belief is that they will increase the fines or penalties for companies that engage in misconduct,” Lim said.
“I think there shouldn’t be too many new laws coming in.”
With the royal commission coming a decade after the global financial crisis, where rampant misbehavior by senior banking executives went unchecked and mostly unpunished, Staples said the inquiry needed to go further and clamp down on a key root cause — performance-based pay.
“These banks have been wildly profitable... and I think a lot of the executives and staff within the banks have probably got used to over-inflated pay,” he said.
“If we don’t tackle that issue of performance-based pay and we then go back to rewarding staff primarily financially for their contribution to overall profitability, then I think there’s an enormous risk that the whole thing will fail.”
Analysts have said possible remuneration recommendations from the report could involve regulating incentives and pay.
Australia banks set for major shake-up from landmark inquiry
Australia banks set for major shake-up from landmark inquiry
- Major lenders including the country’s ‘big four’ banks — among the developed world’s most wealthy — have been under scrutiny in recent years
- Australia’s conservative government has been cautious in committing to implement the report’s recommendations in advance
Saudi Maaden reports 156% profit surge to $2bn on strong commodity prices, record production
RIYADH: Saudi mining and metals company Maaden has reported a 156 percent jump in its net profit attributable to shareholders for 2025, driven by higher commodity prices, record production volumes, and a one-off bargain purchase gain.
The state-backed giant posted a net profit of SR7.35 billion ($1.95 billion) for the full year 2025, an increase from SR2.87 billion in the previous year. The firm’s revenue surged by 19 percent to SR38.58 billion, up from SR32.55 billion in 2024.
This comes as Saudi Arabia steps up efforts to expand its mining sector as a pillar of economic diversification, encouraging international participation and private investment to unlock the Kingdom’s estimated $2.5 trillion in untapped mineral resources under Vision 2030.
In a statement on Tadawul, the company said: “Performance was led by record phosphate production, near record aluminum production, an increase in all three of Maaden’s main output commodity prices.”
The performance was also fueled by a 60 percent increase in gross profit, which reached SR14.79 billion. In its annual results announcement, Maaden attributed the top-line growth to “higher commodity market prices for phosphate, aluminum and gold business units,” as well as increased sales volumes in its phosphate and aluminum segments. This was partially offset by slightly lower sales volume in the gold unit.
Maaden’s CEO, Bob Wilt, hailed 2025 as a transformative year for the company, marked by strategic growth and operational excellence. “This was a great year for Maaden’s strategic growth. We delivered strong financial results and sustained operational excellence across the business,” he said in a statement.
“This was driven by growth in production across all businesses, including record-breaking DAP (di-ammonium phosphatevolumes), disciplined cost control across and a clear commitment to our role as a cornerstone of the Saudi economy,” Wilt added.
Profitability was further bolstered by an increased share of net profit from joint ventures and an associate. This included a one-off bargain purchase gain of SR768 million related to Maaden’s investment in Aluminium Bahrain B.S.C. The company also benefited from lower finance costs.
The fourth quarter of 2025 was strong, with Maaden swinging to a net profit of SR1.67 billion, compared to a loss of SR106 million in the same period of the prior year. Quarterly revenue rose 7 percent to SR10.64 billion.
The firm achieved record production of di-ammonium phosphate, reaching 6.72 million tonnes for the year, a 9 percent increase. Aluminum production remained near-record levels, while the company added a net 7.8 million ounces to its reportable gold mineral resources through discovery and resource development.
The phosphate division saw sales jump 17 percent to SR20.77 billion, with the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margin expanding to 47 percent. The aluminum business reported a 9 percent increase in sales to SR10.99 billion, with EBITDA more than doubling in the fourth quarter.
Looking ahead, Wilt emphasized that the pace of growth will accelerate as the company advances key initiatives, including the Phosphate 3 Phase 1 and Ar Rjum projects, which remain on budget and schedule. Maaden has also secured a gas supply for its future Phosphate 4 project.
“This pace of growth will only accelerate. Not only as we advance projects and increase the scale of our exploration program, but as we continue to grow production and implement technology that will further modernize, streamline and unlock value,” Wilt added.
Earnings per share for the year rose sharply to SR1.91, up from SR0.78 in 2024. Total shareholders’ equity increased by 18.7 percent to SR61.59 billion.
