Banks to be named by complaints authority

The authority tasked with handling complaints about the nation's financial institutions will publicly name lenders when it makes determinations.

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Dodgy banks and other financial institutions will now be publicly named and shamed by the authority that handles complaints about them.

Institutions will also be named when the Australian Financial Complaints Authority determines they have done nothing wrong.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has given the green light to the rule changes, believing they will make it easier to expose issues within particular firms or with particular products or services.

The complaint body's determinations have long been published, but without including the names of firms involved in financial services, superannuation and credit issues.

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Naming firms will also improve transparency and accountability, both in how institutions are dealing with complaints and AFCA's decision-making, ASIC believes.

People who make complaints will still remain anonymous in AFCA's determinations.

The authority was established in November 2018 and received more than 35,200 complaints in its first six months.

Between 4,500 and 5,000 complaints are expected to be finalized each year.