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Category: Women / Community and Society / Business, Economics and Finance / Industry / Banking

Bank denies gender bias after Keneally lashes out on Twitter

Saturday, 14 May 2016 13:20:25

The ex-premier says an NAB representative refused to speak to her. (AAP)

Former New South Wales premier Kristina Keneally has hit out at NAB in a series of tweets over what she says is the bank's "antiquated attitude to women".

Ms Keneally, who is now a presenter and commentator on Sky News Australia, said the bank refused to speak to her after blocking a purchase she tried to make on her own credit card, which she says is attached to a joint account she holds with her husband.

When Ms Keneally called the bank after a text message was sent to her husband, she said a representative insisted the bank needed to speak to him, not her.

In a series of tweets, Ms Keneally attacked the bank's "antiquated attitude to women, marriage and banking", calling it "appalling".

External Link: switch banks

"At a society level this is really an outdated approach to marriage," Ms Keneally told the ABC.

External Link: Keneally tweet one

"It would be an incredibly dangerous one [approach] if a woman was in a situation related to domestic violence."

But when contacted by the ABC, the bank claimed the issue had "nothing to do with gender".

A spokesperson for NAB said the way a customer is treated depends on how an account is set up.

"Sometimes the way accounts are set up can limit what we say to different account signatories, however this has nothing to do with gender," the spokesperson told the ABC.

"If we've done the wrong thing in this case, we will say sorry for the experience.

"We're also happy to help customers to set up accounts with equal access too."

The spokesperson would not elaborate on the type of account Ms Keneally was referring to, citing privacy reasons.

Ms Keneally insisted it was a "joint account" and said she would be moving her family's accounts to another bank.

Ms Keneally re-posted several messages of encouragement from other Twitter users who claimed similar things had happened with utilities companies and other services.

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