Not to say there may not be a div reduction at some stage if...

Not to say there may not be a div reduction at some stage if profits can not be sustained. But I would think that if / when this happens there will a realignment of thinking at a very fundamental level which will have the bank shares lose a lot of goodwill. Goodwill that has a lot of casual investors and possibly more sophisticated investors thinking twice about parking money in Bank shares instead of the traditional "pick a bank, any bank" strategy.

Longer term, it will not be a big issue because there will still be great relative returns by the way of dividends from some of the most secure businesses in Australia. But the banks will lose their luster in some circles.