The flood disaster that had hit Australia in the past weeks provided some form of relief for the heated debate on the country's banking reforms but the senate probe looking into the matter appears ready to resume hearing testimonies, this time though in Sydney.

Brisbane has been temporarily stricken out as the host of the investigation owing to the damages left behind by the flood as the Sydney inquiry of the Senate Economics Reference Committee prepares to hear words from Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly, who is set to appear before the legislative probe on Friday.

Industry watchers are anticipating to hear the testimonies to be unleashed by the Westpac head and analysts could not help but to surmise that Kelly would only toe the line set by her fellow major bank executives, who chorused during the earlier hearings in December last year that the banking industry is in a solid state despite the issues it is currently confronting.

This projection stemmed from Westpac's earlier written submission, in which the giant bank has pointed out that enough players are already involved in the market and clients looking to secure better banking deals have an array of viable choices.

Aside from her company's pre-established stand on the country's banking issues, the industry also anticipates Kelly's take on the banking reforms proposed by Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan, which is expected to be revealed on the senate committee hearing.

Central to Swan's banking reform initiatives is the government's aim of providing more financial muscle to small lenders, credit unions and building societies, in hopes that the groups could offer viable competition with Australia's four major banks such as the Australia New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), National Australia Bank (NAB) and Westpac.

So far the reforms being pushed by the government have been mostly praised and considered by major players in the banking industry, even the most contentious proposals by Swan to ban mortgage exit fees and to give more teeth on mortgage-backed securities market that the government envisions could be solid source of finances for smaller players in sector wanting to compete big time.

The senate committee is also scheduled to hear publicly from regulatory bodies such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and Financial Services Council (FSC) on the same day before it is set to wrap up its investigation in Melbourne by Tuesday next week, where the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will be heard in turn.