National Australia Bank has established the role of independent customer advocate to help retail and small business customers resolve complaints. The bank said in a media release that the advocate position was established as part of its commitment to the Australian Bankers Association's initiative to build independence in banks' complaints processes. The bank has appointed Catherine Wolthuizen as its first customer advocate. Wolthuizen was previously chair of the Consumers' Federation of Australia and a board member of the Insurance Ombudsman Service. She has also worked as an ombudsman in the UK Financial Ombudsman Service. ANZ has issued ¥10 billion of fixed-rate subordinated notes (about A$130 million) paying interest of 0.95 per cent. The notes, which mature in July 2028, will convert to fully paid ordinary ANZ shares if APRA determines that a non-viability trigger event has occurred. Seven mutual banks that have signed up to a new fintech accelerator program run by professional services firm KPMG. The mLabs 12-week program will connect the mutual banks with 14 start-up companies in an attempt to promote innovation. Credit union CUA, along with Beyond Bank, Greater Bank, Heritage, IMB (Illawarra Mutual Bank), Police Bank, and Teachers Bank have signed up to work closely with the start-ups to come up with solutions to sector-wide issues, and create prototype products and services, the AFR reports.