ACCC to probe whether banks use saver’s profession to determine interest rate

The competition regulator will test whether banks and other lenders use a person's profession, or other demographic information, to determine what savings rate they receive, amid growing concerns over pricing practices.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has opened its inquiry into retail deposits for submissions, and will assess the criteria banks use when making rate decisions.

"One of the aspects we are directed to look at is the interest rates paid, including with reference to differences between customer segments," ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb told Guardian Australia.

"We are looking to test this in a lot of detail now."

She said the regulator did not have a preliminary view on whether a person's age, job or other attribute affected the rate they received.

Any adverse findings against the banks and other institutions could prove damaging for a sector that only recently emerged from a scathing royal commission that exposed numerous poor practices.

The Australian Banking Association chief executive, Anna Bligh, said the regulator had been tasked by the federal treasurer to determine how savers were benefiting from a higher interest-rate environment.