The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has said there is no solid evidence showing that school banking programs have helped children develop long-term saving habits, In a report, published on Dec 15, ASIC said that its two-year review into school banking programs has demonstrated that school banking programs have exposed vulnerable young children to sophisticated marketing tactics and disguised the provider’s true intention. The watchdog also suggest NSW and Queensland follow the Victorian government and ban the practice. “School banking program providers fail to effectively disclose that a strategic objective of these programs is customer acquisition,” the report said. ASIC also found that these programs also cause a conflict of interest as schools are paid based on the number of deposit accounts opened and subsequent transactions made. According to ASIC data, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), which dominates 97 percent of the programs nationwide, has paid nearly $5.7 million …