The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) will demand higher education qualifications from its financial planners as it moves to repair the damage caused by some financial advisers providing poor advice to investors.
The bank said on Friday that new financial planners and their supervisors or managers will have to hold a degree in finance, business, commerce or a related field.
Existing financial planners and their supervisors will have to hold either an advanced diploma in financial planning or a degree in finance, business, commerce or a related field by June 30, 2017.
Financial planners will also have to become members of a relevant financial services industry association.
"The relationship between a financial planner and their customers must be based on trust," the bank's executive general manager of advice, Marianne Perkovic, said in a statement.
"This (the education requirements) is an important next step that continues our investment in the professionalism of the advice industry."
Last week, the Commonwealth Bank appointed retired High Court judge Ian Callinan to chair a review set up by the bank to deal with the scandal surrounding its financial advisers.
Earlier this month, Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ian Narev apologised to more than 1,100 customers for their loss of savings after receiving advice from Commonwealth Bank financial advisers.
Ms Perkovic said both the interim report of the Financial System Inquiry (Murray Inquiry) and the final report of the Senate Economics Committee inquiry into the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) had concluded that education levels across the industry needed to be improved.
The Financial Planning Association welcomed the Commonwealth Bank's moves to improve standards, saying the bank had listened to indutry feedback and acted.
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