A Wunch Of Bankers

It wasn't even the long list of scandals exposed to a horrified nation -- charging fees to dead people, ignoring blatant conflicts of interest, and taking $1 billion from customers in fees that banks were never entitled to. What made it so fascinating, so heart-breaking, and so enraging was the procession of faces through the witness box, and the team of counsel gazing into the dark heart of banking. Tearful victims, blank-faced executives, hapless regulators, and a couple of utter charlatans all had their day in court, watched by an audience of millions, and revealing -- in their stories -- the material to justify re-shaping the multi-trillion dollar financial services industry that forms a pillar of Australian life. A Wunch of Bankers covers not just the big shocks, but the small moments -- lost in the flurry of daily reporting -- that reveal how companies have used the law, limp enforcement, and basic human behaviour to take advantage of customers. Is there a phrase that judges how much life-insurance spruikers in call centres can terrify you about your impending death -- and the grief-stricken ruins of an estate you'll leave for your bereaved family -- while still being legal? Yes, there is. Was there a meeting in which a bank's executives ignored a warning of "Extreme" from its chief risk officer, to embark on an illegal scheme that accrued $3.6 billion in funds? There was. In A Wunch of Bankers, Dan Ziffer brings out the colour and grit of the royal commission's proceedings, and explores broader issues raised by the testimony