A parliamentary report on the big four banks has called for all regulatory breaches to be made public within five business days, effective from July 1.

The House of Representatives Economics Committee says publicly released reports to the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) should include a description of the breach and how it occurred, steps to ensure it does not occur again, and names of senior executives responsible.

Reports should state if the senior executive was fired, and if not, why. The committee says no senior executives have been fired over recent financial advice failings.

“This is unacceptable and clearly demonstrates the accountability deficit that exists within these organisations.

“The major banks seem to believe that it is appropriate that no senior executive has been terminated for these failings and that a reduction in responsible executives’ remuneration will be sufficient to improve consumer outcomes.

“The major banks have a ‘poor compliance culture’ and have repeatedly failed to protect the interests of consumers.

“This is a culture senior executives have created. It is a culture they need to be held accountable for.”

The committee notes some progress on management culture, but it wants more. It also accepts not all misconduct by senior executives has warranted an ASIC industry ban.

At public hearings the banks argued five days is not enough time to gather information on a breach. They also say public reporting could result in justice being compromised if an investigation is rushed.

The committee accepted a longer period would be appropriate in certain circumstances.