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The National's response to Mr Dick Viney's Code of Banking Practice Issues Paper, supports the call for the creation of a credible, transparent and independent monitoring mechanism to oversee banks' compliance with the Code. "The Code of Banking Practice is integral to the way banks in Australia, such as the National, interact with their customers," said Mike Pratt, the National's CEO, Australian Financial Services. "If the Code is to adequately protect consumers, there needs to be an effective monitoring and compliance regime in place. This, we fully support." "We are committed to acting fairly and reasonably towards our customers and, to this end, we already have a well established unit dedicated to managing customer complaints. "The National is working with the Australian Bankers' Association to review the Code and to review how the Code may be monitored by an independent authority," Mr Pratt said. Elsewhere in the National's response, which was lodged with Mr Viney on 14 August 2001, the National said it would be fully supportive of an extension to the Code to cover small business as defined by the Financial Services Reform Bill. In a covering letter to Mr Viney, Mr Pratt highlighted a number of positive developments for the National, its customers and the wider community. For example, the development of a low cost basic transaction account. For the last two years the National has been working with a community consultation forum under the chairmanship of the Rev Tim Costello. Initiatives resulting from community consultation include the introduction of the National Concession Card Account for customers who hold government healthcare cards. Eligible customers receive a $40 monthly rebate, providing up to 13 free over the counter transactions a month or 66 ATM withdrawals, EFTPOS transactions or mini-statements or a combination. Customers with a National disability concession are also entitled to at least 114 free transactions of any type per month. Further, the National has undertaken not to withdraw banking services from any community where there is no Australia Post giroPost service. The National now offers an over the counter service through 2,800 Australia Post outlets across Australia.
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