Larry Williams Drive

Of course, the Prime Minster took a swipe at banks yesterday saying their profits are not ‘justifiable’.  Banks are easy targets. It’s good politics. But will she actually put her money where her mouth is and do anything to rein in banks?  No of course not. And actually nor should she.  What are banks actually doing wrong?  Far as I can see, they’re only doing what any good business would do. Which is to maximise profits for their shareholders. They don’t seem to be making excessive profits. ANZ, for example, has a return on equity of 13 percent, which seems unremarkable for a listed company. Compare it to F and P Healthcare- 24 percent, Mainfreight- 28 percent, Hallensteins- 29 percent.  $2 billion dollars sounds like a big annual profit, but then it is a really big company. Logic doesn’t have to stop the Government though.  It could, if it wanted to, either regulate banks to curb their profits, or they could tax through something like a windfall tax like the Greens want. But I’m not sure it’s worth the trou