Banks copped a pep talk on the need for resolve, while also receiving a warning on "slippage" from the independent governance expert overseeing the Australian Bankers Association's package of consumer protection, transparency and accountability initiatives.Most member banks of the ABA are pursuing a package of reforms outlined by the industry association last year amid the pre-election hubbub over the merits of a Royal Commission into the industry.    The collective work by the industry, so far, may inform a material and even strategic reset by some of the Australian financial sector's most enduring names, if language employed by the ABA's governance expert, Ian McPhee, is a guide.McPhee, in a third quarterly assessment of the association's program, wrote that "it is increasingly apparent that banks will need to reassess the clarity of their service commitment to customers in the light of the industry's initiatives."The sector requires "revisions reflected in bank policies, training and behaviours at all levels, if the desired outcomes of the industry reforms are to be achieved," McPhee wrote.In April 2016 the Australian Bankers Association announced that the banking industry would establish an independent review of product sales commissions and product based payments, with a view to removing or changing them where they could lead to poor customer outcomes.The industry also undertook to enhance customer complaints processes, ensure high standards of whistleblower protection, remove rogue advisers from the industry and review the Code of Banking Practice. Each bank will also appoint an independent customer advocate.The industry is establishing a register to extend identification of rogue advisers to any bank employee. In addition, the banks are evaluating the establishment of an industry-wide mandatory compensation scheme of last resort. The matters that the banks are working through "are among some of the most difficult matters to deal with in retail banking," McPhee said, while pointing out that progress may be hampered by half a dozen or more parallel reviews by the ABA or regulators, including the review of the Code of Practice.In a nod to the concern among the management of some banks that, "as [they] pilot measures, some may not be as effective as originally anticipated," McPhee cautioned: "this should not discourage refinements in approaches, or new policies or measures."One aspect of the ABA's work that McPhee and his clients plan to speed up is public relations."The ABA has advised that consumer research indicates there is low community awareness about the industry's actions to respond to customer concerns," McPhee wrote."In this context, there will be opportunities for key industry leaders to inform the community about the industry's progress with its reform measures … It will continue to be important for the wider community to be informed of steps being taken by the industry to lift its performance on the path to building trust and confidence in the industry."McPhee said there remained "a significant body of work to be completed" by banks, including:- "to settle industry policy positions and staged approaches to implementation,"- "for individual banks to review and, as appropriate, revise