Image: An inquiry is being conducted into banking remuneration practices in Australia. (Pixabay/CC0)

Have you ever walked into a bank and been sold a product or service that you didn't really want?

There are concerning signals that the way banks pay their staff may be encouraging them to push unwanted or unsuitable products onto consumers, so that bank employees can then be awarded a bonus.

In a bid to hold off continued calls for a royal commission in banking, an inquiry has been launched by the Australian Bankers' Association into how bank staff are remunerated. It is being lead by former Public Service Commissioner Stephen Sedgwick.