Good corporate culture, values and ethics A speech by Greg Medcraft, Chairman, Australian Securities and Investments Commission Launch of Governance Institute of Australia's inaugural Ethics Index (Sydney, New South Wales) 20 July 2016 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak at the launch of the Governance Institute's inaugural Ethics Index. I congratulate you on this important initiative. We are at an exciting time in history, when technological innovation is rewriting almost every industry including the financial services industry. Very recently, Max Levchin, PayPal co-founder and former chief technology officer, said that his new fintech start-up, Affirm - which offers flexible and fast loans to consumers and is pitched as an alternative to a credit card-could challenge global financial institutions with a new model designed to better align with customer interests. Regardless of whether this particular vision succeeds, it is evident that new disruptors will continue to challenge incumbents. In a new Telstra report, Millennials mobiles and money, it was stated that, 'millennials may be the first generation to live their lives never requiring nor engaging with a traditional institution and only ever associating the word "branch" with a tree'. Social licence, social media and the 24-hour news cycle are also changing customer expectations and the way customers behave. Companies need to live up to the standards we expect, not just the laws we enact. The Telstra report says that 'the threat from fintech is significant'. It notes that two-thirds of millennials prefer to receive advice on financial products and services via a digital an Securities and Investments Commission 20 July 2016 Page 1 of 4 Good corporate culture, values and ethics A speech by Greg Medcraft, Chairman, Australian Securities and Investments Commission Launch of Governance Institute of Australia's inaugural Ethics Index (Sydney, New South Wales) 20 July 2016 CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY Introduction Thank you for inviting me to speak at the launch of the Governance Institute's inaugural Ethics Index. I congratulate you on this important initiative. We are at an exciting time in history, when technological innovation is rewriting almost every industry including the financial services industry. Very recently, Max Levchin, PayPal co-founder and former chief technology officer, said that his new fintech start-up, Affirm - which offers flexible and fast loans to consumers and is pitched as an alternative to a credit card-could challenge global financial institutions with a new model designed to better align with customer interests. Regardless of whether this particular vision succeeds, it is evident that new disruptors will continue to challenge incumbents. In a new Telstra report, Millennials mobiles and money, it was stated that, 'millennials may be the first generation to live their lives never requiring nor engaging with a traditional institution and only ever associating the word "branch" with a tree'. Social licence, social media and the 24-hour news cycle are also changing customer expectations and the way customers behave. Companies need to live up to the standards we expect, not just the laws we enact. The Telstra report says that 'the threat from fintech is significant'. It notes that two-thirds of millennials prefer to receive advice on financial products and services via a digital an Securities and Investments Commission 20 July 2016 Page 1 of 4
