Bendigo and Adelaide Bank managing director Mike Hirst has accused politicians of actively "whipping up" negative perceptions of the banking industry.
Mr Hirst on Tuesday said the industry is perceived as being greedy and untrustworthy even though individual bank customer satisfaction ratings are at historically high levels
"This perception is fed to politicians, who then play it back to the public through a supportive media to whip up even more angst," Mr Hirst told the bank's annual general meeting in Bendigo.
"It is almost perpetual motion personified."
Mr Hirst told shareholders that populist policies - such as the government's bank tax and federal Labor's call for a royal commission - amplified existing dissatisfaction over executive salaries and a perception that big business doesn't pay enough tax.
"The weight of regulation that is being rained down upon the industry, and the fact that a royal commission into banking is a central plank of the federal opposition's election platform, probably tells you all you need to know," Mr Hirst said.
"Both of those things are driven by politicians who believe they are simply acting upon what their constituents want, so you also have a clear insight into the view of the community - and it isn't pretty."
Mr Hirst said Australian Prudential Regulation Authority intervention to limit investor and interest-only mortgage lending had interrupted Bendigo and Adelaide's growth momentum.
But he said the lender expects to maintain its exit net interest margin from the last financial year at 2.34 per cent over the current first half.
The bank managed a second half net interest margin of 2.26 per cent in 2016/17, with 2.22 per cent over the full year.
Shares in Bendigo and Adelaide Bank were 9.0 cents, or 0.75 per cent, lower at $11.86 at 1025 AEDT.
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