K: Financial and Insurance Services

Traders see end in sight for RBA rate rises

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Original article by Cecile Lefort, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 6-May-26

Money markets still expect the Reserve Bank of Australia to increase official interest rates by another 25 basis points by September; at 4.6 per cent, the cash rate would be at its highest level since 2011. However, bond traders now expect just one more rate rise in 2026, with the chances of two more increases having been pared back from 80 per cent to 65 per cent. IFM Investors’ chief economist Alex Joiner says the RBA’s revised economic forecasts imply that its preferred measure of underlying inflation will return to its target of 2.5 per cent by February. He says this suggests that the central bank could switch to an easing bias in late 2026 or early 2027.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, IFM INVESTORS PTY LTD

Risk of mortgage stress up 1.9% points in March after the Reserve Bank raised interest rates for second straight month

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Apr-26

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 26.8% of mortgage holders were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to March 2026, up 1.9% points from February. This is equivalent to 1,447,000 people (up 130,000 on a month ago). However, the number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress is virtually unchanged on a year ago after the Reserve Bank cut interest rates in May and August 2025, and then raised them in February and March 2026. Meanwhile, the number of Australians who are considered to be ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 1,020,000 (18.9% of mortgage holders); this is significantly above the long-term average over the last two decades of 16.3%.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Aussie dollar to fly as RBA goes it alone on rates

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Original article by Grace Lagan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 29-Apr-26

The US Federal Reserve, its British and Canadian counterparts and the European Central Bank are widely tipped to leave official interest rates on hold this week. In contrast, the Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to increase the cash rate next week, for the third time in 2026; inflation data for March is likely to strengthen the case for another rate rise. Foreign exchange strategies note that the Australian dollar and local bonds are likely to benefit from the widening gap between domestic and international interest rates.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Big banks, miners increase dominance in risk to investors

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Original article by Cecile Lefort
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 22-Apr-26

The list of Australia’s 10 biggest stocks is now dominated by banks and mining companies; CLS, Wesfarmers and Goodman Group are now the only top-10 stocks in the S&P/ASX 200 Index that are not in these sectors. The four major banks and BHP top the list, and collectively account for 35 per cent of the sharemarket. Lachlan Halloway from Morningstar notes that resources groups have benefited from rising commodity prices due to the Iran war, while investors still regard banks as ‘safe haven’ stocks.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, CLS LAWYERS PTY LTD, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, GOODMAN GROUP – ASX GMG, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP

$A an unlikely powerhouse amid oil shock

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Original article by Cecile Lefort
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 8-Apr-26

The Australian dollar has fallen by less than three per cent against its US counterpart since the start of the Iran war; it has also fallen by only two per cent against a basket of currencies of Australia’s major trading partners. The dollar peaked at a four-year high of $US0.7151 in mid-March, and is currently fetching arond $US0.69. It has benefited from Australia’s status as a major exporter of gas and coal, amid the global ructions arising from the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The dollar has also been boosted by the carry trade, given that Australia is the only member of the G10 nations to have increased official interest rates since the war began.

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32 scam websites deleted each day

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Original article by Kathleen Skene
The Australian – Page: 15 : 8-Apr-26

Data from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission shows that it has used its ‘take-down’ powers to order the removal of more than 25,000 phishing and investment scam websites since 2023. This includes 11,964 sites in 2025, which is 90 per cent higher than the previous year. ASIC commissioner Alan Kirkland notes the growing use of artificial intelligence technology to generate scam ads, including professional videos and fake endorsements. The National Anti-Scam Centre has reported that Australians lost a combined $2.18bn via scams in 2025.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, NATIONAL ANTI-SCAM CENTRE

Risk of mortgage stress dropped to lowest for three years in January, but is set to increase as interest rates rise in 2026

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 11-Mar-26

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 23.9% of mortgage holders were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in January 2026, down 4% points from August 2025. This is the lowest proportion of mortgage holders ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ since January 2023. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has decreased by 449,000 compared to a year ago, when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate cuts. Meanwhile, the number of Australians considered to be ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 789,000 (15.9% of mortgage holders); this is just below the long-term average over the last two decades of 16.3%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

CBA plans to retrain workers to head off anger over job cuts

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 25-Feb-26

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia will launch a new skills program that aims to retrain its staff and provide them with the AI skills and other expertise that will be needed in the future. CEO Matt Comyn says employers have an obligation to help workers to build up their AI skills, and he argues that Australian companies must embrace AI technology in order to remain internationally competitive. CBA’s focus will be on training staff in areas that will be in demand, with the aim of shifting thousands of workers into higher-value roles. Meanwhile, CBA has advised of another 300 job cuts across its banking and human resources teams, although they have not been specifically linked to AI.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Elliott drops legal case against ANZ over unpaid bonus

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Original article by Angira Bharadwaj, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 25-Feb-26

The ANZ Bank withheld some $32m worth of bonuses to some current and former executives in 2025, in response to the regulatory failing that resulted in a record fine. The executives included former CEO Shayne Elliott, who subsequently pursued legal action to recover more than $13.5m in bonuses that had been cancelled. Elliott contended that ANZ had breached the terms of his departure by withholding his bonuses. The bank has welcomed Elliott’s decision to abandon the lawsuit, and has advised that both parties will pay their own legal costs. Elliott is entitled to an additional $8m worth of future bonuses, which may also be in doubt.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Profit season off to unusually strong start

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 18-Feb-26

Banks and resources stocks have been the key drivers of a strong earnings performance so far in the February reporting season. However, there have been mixed earnings outside of these sectors, which has been reflected in share prices; Cochlear and Temple & Webster are the stocks that fell sharply after their latest financial results were below expectations. Hasan Tevfik from MST Marquee notes that overall, there has not been such a strong start to the earnings season since February 2021, when the market was recovering from the impact of the pandemic.

CORPORATES
COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, TEMPLE AND WEBSTER GROUP LIMITED – ASX TPW, MST MARQUEE