Ann: Chairmans Address 2014 AGM, page-7

Just based on the slide at the agm it is a really big deal if they could close the gap between the big and small banks cost of capital.  However the government can't just regulate the gap away can it?  Isn't it about the size and capital base of the big four providing a perceived lower level of risk over the smaller banks and the fact that the smaller banks seem to have a habit of getting themselves into trouble more often than the big four (NAB for the last 10 years and WBC in the 1980s aside) so the risk premium for smaller banks is market justified?  What is snowball wanting government protection for small banks?

http://www.businessspectator.com.au/news/2014/10/29/financial-services/snowball-pleads-small-banks