The banking lobby is outraged at being given just one week to respond to draft accountability reforms.

The Australian Bankers Association (ABA) is protesting the short consultation timeframe for the new Bank Executive Accountability Regime – reforms designed to ensure that up to 40 per cent of senior bank executives' remuneration is deferred and made contingent on fulfilling their corporate governance duties.

Under the so-called BEAR rules, senior bank executives and directors would also have to be registered with APRA, and risk disqualification if they breach their duties.

Banks would face penalties of up to $210 million if their executives breach their duties.

Draft legislation for the BEAR consisting of 34 pages of draft legislation and a 33-page explanatory memorandum was released on Friday, and response submissions must be lodged by this Friday.

“This is not good public policy making,” the ABA chief Anna Bligh told reporters.

“Banks have accepted that this regime will be coming into place, they are very keen to work cooperatively with the Government to get that regime right, and there are still some outstanding questions about it.

“I can't think of another piece of legislation that's had a seven-day turnaround.”

Treasurer Scott Morrison says the banks were warned.

“I first raised this with bank chairs back in February of this year,” he said.

“We had the consultation on the specific proposals for the legislation back in July, it was flagged in the budget.

“So this is one of the oldest tricks in the book, I know it's a quick turnaround, but I'm not mucking around.

“I know the banks don't want a lot of these things to be in there, but I'm not about to give them three months to make the case why they shouldn't be in there, they're going in,” he said.

One of the ABA’s complaints so far is that the BEAR scheme should be expanded beyond just banks.

“It's currently proposed only to apply to banks, even though APRA — the regulatory body charged with administering the regime — has extensive oversight powers over a much broader financial sector,” Ms Bligh said.

“Banks recruit not only from other banks, they recruit from the insurance sector, they recruit from the superannuation sector — employment is very mobile across the entire finance sector.

“It seems to banks to make a lot of sense, to make sure that the regime actually works in the way the Government wants it to, that it should apply to executives across the whole range of finance.

“I think Australians want to know that there is accountability in the executive teams not only of banks, who look after their money, but of superannuation that's looking after their long term retirement, within their insurance companies.

“These are substantial financial investments for Australians and I don't see any strong public policy reasons for the regime to exist in only one part of the finance sector,” she argued.