The practice of 'vertical integration' has faced the
full wrath of the Australian Royal Commission into Misconduct
in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry
(Royal Commission). At times the headlines
seemed to be merciless: 'Banking royal commission targets
vertical integration', 'Unprecedented: Banking
royal commission to spur widespread change',
'Banks' vertical integration wealth management -
going, going, gone'. But is one of the bedrocks of
Australia's banking sector, and a strategy that is common
practice in financial services firms throughout the world,
really about to disappear from the Australian
financial services sector altogether? At least for now, it is
unclear what the future holds for vertical integration in
the banking system, but the Royal Commission Final Report was
far from the slam dunk on the practice that some had
predicted.
