Turnbull says bankers must face the law

Bankers who charged dead people for financial advice must be held accountable under the law, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull says.

Malcolm Turnbull says bankers who charged dead people for financial advice must be held accountable. (AAP)

A "very disappointed" Malcolm Turnbull says bankers who charged dead people for financial advice must be held accountable under the law.

A former investment banker in mergers and acquisitions, the prime minister said the latest revelations from the banking royal commission showed financial institutions had not put customers first.

"I'm very disappointed," Mr Turnbull told 6PR radio in Perth on Thursday.

"You've got to put your customer first ... that has not happened."

When asked if the bankers who took money from people without providing the service they promised should face criminal charges, Mr Turnbull said: "Anyone that has breached the law should be held to account."

"My personal commitment is we will hold those who have done the wrong thing to account."

The royal commission this week heard National Australia Bank in 2016 spent five or six months discussing ways to justify keeping fees wrongly charged to some superannuation members.