It’s that time when the big four bank bosses set off on their annual pilgrimage to Canberra to line up on a spit for grilling by a bunch of politicians eager to flex their muscle under the guise of holding them accountable.

In years gone by, it had a gladiatorial flare – bank bosses whose organisations had misbehaved were chased by legislator lions eager to exact public shaming.

Banks that have been in the news for all the wrong reasons for mistreatment of customers must be prepared for the worst. This year, ANZ, which has announced it is slashing its workforce by 8 per cent and has also been penalised for poor conduct across its institutional and retail divisions, will probably be placed under the House of Representatives economics committee’s blowtorch.

Westpac has gamed its appearance before the committee this year particularly well with an announcement that it is piloting a program to address the absence of branches in many regional areas. The plan is to have a roaming bank operative that will set up an office in a local council for perhaps one........

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