Abstract:
The failure of foreign banks to have a competitive impact on the dominant position of the Australian banks in the retail and small and medium entreprises market is the inevitable outcome of a banking policy framework that for years accommodated the major incumbent banks. A review of the relationship between the commercial banks and the state during this century suggests that the influence of the banks on banking policy outcomes can be partially explained by the banks pivotal role in implementing monetary policies. The ensuing relationship is reflective of a corporatist arrangement.