SYDNEY—The Australian corporate watchdog may need to play a bigger role in regulating agricultural finance given the absence of redress options for borrowers, a powerful public inquiry heard on Monday, June 25, as it turned its focus to the country’s $50 billion farm sector.
Halfway through a year of scheduled hearings, the inquiry into financial sector misconduct has led to damaging revelations of careless and at times fraudulent lending practices, wiping out tens of billions of dollars from Australian bank valuations, spurring major asset sales and leading to executive departures.
