Another week, another major ripple from across the Tasman. Australia’s Royal Commission produced another controversy this week as Matt Comyn, chief executive of Commonwealth Bank of Australia, took aim at adviser pay structures.

In some eyebrow-raising comments, Comyn outlined his support for a fee-for-service structure, describing it as “the most attractive” model. He also questioned whether advisers delivered an ongoing service worthy of a trail fees.

The comments angered the Australian adviser association, the MFAA. They claim Comyn is trying to serve his own interests by forcing customers to go direct.

TMM Online spoke with CBA’s New Zealand bank ASB, who said the two markets were “very different”. Do you think Comyn’s words will fire up the fee-for-service debate in NZ? Let us know your views.

There was brighter news this week as ASB economists predicted the next OCR cycle will peak at just 2.75%. Do you agree? It doesn’t look like rates will be going up any time soon. Early in the week a host of top lenders slashed their mortgage rates to below 4%.

Sub 4% rates from the likes of BNZ, ANZ are hardly likely to dampen the housing market, and it looks like the Spring boom may get a helping hand this year. What effect will the lower-for-longer rate environment have on your business? Have you seen a boost already?