Westpac Banking Corp chief executive Gail Kelly has warned against over-regulating during the global financial crisis, saying it could lead the bank to cut back on its lending to customers.
Ms Kelly told a Trans-Tasman business circle lunch in Sydney yesterday that the government is at risk of being too heavy handed with regulations, implementing stricter prudential supervision on the sector as the credit crisis begins to ease.
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According to Ms Kelly, increased regulation could result in restricted lending and increased fees and charges to consumers.
“In the consumer credit situation, if we’re not careful we might find it harder to lend and as a consequence provide less funding to meet the needs of customers,” Ms Kelly said.