CBA chief executive Ian Narev has spoken frankly about the importance of

Consumer trust, following revelations about poor financial advice within the bank

earlier this year.

Speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce lunch, 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 first-hand 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 potshots at any institution,” Mr Narev said.

“We’re worried about it because we let down customers and in letting down customers, you undermine the trust that is 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.

John can be contacted on 0749722081 or 0410433919. or email him at jwhitten@ihl.net.au or net www.ihl.net.au. John Whitten is a credit representative (CRN 399796) of BLASSA Pty Ltd (Australian Credit Licence No 391237).