Coles has said it plans to leverage consumers' loss of confidence in the big banks in its foray into financial services.
Coles last week announced a joint venture with GE Capital to offer a broader array of financial services. Now, the supermarket's finance director Robb Scott has told the Australian Financial Review the retailer's move into financial services will be aided by Australians' negative feelings toward large financial institutions.
“What happened with the GFC is that it led to a loss of public confidence in big financial institutions, [including] the quality of advice and disclosure and the need for taxpayer support,” Scott told the AFR.
The AFR said Coles is understood to be applying for a banking license, and it has been speculated that the company would move into offering mortgages like British supermarket chains such as Tesco. But Scott would not explicitly state what products Coles will offer in the future.
“We haven’t been commenting on exactly what products we will offer in the future. Before we launch products we want to ensure our offer is best in class.”
