Speaking at an American Chamber Of Commerce lunch on Wednesday, Mr Narev said the topic of trust within financial services has been a “big topic of conversation at the CBA over past months”.
“Yes, the events have led to some of the adverse publicity we’ve had, [although] the actual actions of the [financial] advisers happened a few years ago,” he said.
“But we have seen firsthand how our management of them and how, many years later, the actions themselves can still tarnish the reputation of an institution.”
The CBA takes the damage to its reputation “extremely seriously”, he added.
“Not actually because we’re worried about what people might write or what people are going to say, because there are always going to be individuals who take pot shots at any institution,” Nr Narev said.
“We’re worried about it because we let down customers and in letting down customers, you undermine the trust that is so critical to a financial institution.”
CBA announced this week that it has received registrations from approximately 4,200 customers seeking a review of their advice as part of the bank’s Open Advice Review program.
