Banking for the rich fear: ANZ

Original article by Glen Norris
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 30-Aug-23

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott has expressed concern about the impact of over-regulation of the sector and stricter lending standards on access to banking services. He notes that complying with new regulations cost ANZ some 4.7 cents for every dollar of revenue in 2022, compared with just 0.7 cents when he took the helm in 2017. Elliott adds that the regulatory burden is making it harder to obtain a loan or credit card, or to start a business. He acknowledges that lending standards needed to be tightened after the global financial crisis and the Hayne royal commission, but says there is a risk that banking and access to credit may become limited to wealthy people in the future.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

1.43 million Australians At Risk of mortgage stress in June 2023, representing 28.7% of mortgage holders

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Jul-23

New research from Roy Morgan shows that an estimated 1.43 million mortgage holders (28.7%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to June 2023. This period encompassed two interest rate increases of 0.25%, taking official interest rates to 4.1% in June. This is the equal highest number of mortgage holders considered ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress for more than 15 years, since there were 1.46 million ‘At Risk’ in May 2008. The number of Australians who are ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 539,000 over the last year. However, the overall number of Australians in mortgage stress remains below the high reached during the Global Financial Crisis in early 2008 of 35.6% (1,455,000 mortgage holders). Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered to be ‘Extremely At Risk’ has increased to 943,000 (19.6%) in the three months to June, which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 15 years of 15.4%. 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

NAB blocks high-risk crypto exchanges

Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 17-Jul-23

The National Australia Bank has announced it will block payments to certain high-risk cryptocurrency exchanges as from 17 July, although NAB head of fraud Chris Sheehan has declined to name which exchanges are being targeted. The NAB’s action is the latest in a series of similar crackdowns by the major banks, who are finding that scammed money is increasingly being diverted into cryptocurrency, making it almost impossible to recover for scam victims. Asked if the ban includes Binance, Sheehan replied that "our approach is going to be consistent with the rest of the industry".

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, BINANCE

Bendigo Bank home loan customers are the most satisfied with their bank after a year of interest rate rises

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Jun-23

New financial data from Roy Morgan’s Single Source shows that Bendigo Bank has topped the latest banking customer satisfaction ratings among home loan customers. Bendigo Bank’s customer satisfaction rating has increased from 86.2% in May 2022 to 91.0% in May 2023. Close behind in second place is ING with customer satisfaction among home loan customers at 88.3%, up 0.2% points from a year ago. The latest data covers the six months to May 2023, and overall home loan customer satisfaction amongst Australia’s top 12 banks collectively was at 75.5% during this period. This represents a decrease of 1.6% points from the six months to May 2022, just as the current record-setting interest rate increasing cycle got under way. Meanwhile, NAB now has the highest home loan customer satisfaction among the big four banks, with a rating of 75.6%. Average home loan customer satisfaction with the big four banks as a group was 73.7%. These latest banking satisfaction ratings come from the Roy Morgan Single Source survey, derived from in-depth interviews with over 60,000 Australians each year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, BENDIGO BANK, ING BANK (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Commonwealth Bank fined a record $3.55m for breaching spam laws with millions of emails

Original article by Josh Taylor
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 7-Jun-23

The Australian Communications & Media Authority has ordered the nation’s biggest bank to pay a record penalty for breaching the Spam Act. The Commonwealth Bank has been fined $3.55m for sending 65 million unsolicited emails to customers; the bulk of them required customers to log in to their account in order to unsubscribe, which is prohibited under the legislation that took effect in 2021. The bank has also agreed to a three-year court-enforceable undertaking to independently review its online marketing practices and staff training.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

Mortgage stress increases to its highest since August 2008 with 27.8% of mortgage holders now At Risk

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Jun-23

New research from Roy Morgan shows that an estimated 1.38 million mortgage holders (27.8%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to April 2023. This period encompassed two interest rate increases of 0.25%, taking official interest rates to 3.6% in April. This is the highest number of mortgage holders considered ‘At Risk’ since August 2008, when more than 1.4 million were ‘At Risk’. The proportion of mortgage holders considered ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now the highest since October 2011 (28.3%). The number of Australians who are ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 529,000 over the last year. However, despite the sharp increase in the level of mortgage stress during the last year the overall number remains below the high reached during the Global Financial Crisis in early 2009 of 35.6% (1,455,000 mortgage holders). Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered to be ‘Extremely At Risk’ has increased to 881,000 (18.5%), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 15 years of 661,000 (15.9%). 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

New Zealanders are increasingly worried about interest rates as RBNZ raises rates to 14-year highs

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-May-23

The latest Roy Morgan research into the attitudes of New Zealanders towards the level of interest rates shows that the Reserve Bank of NZ’s record 11 rate rises in 18 months are clearly having an impact. Some 54.1% of New Zealanders were worried about interest rates in the year to December 2022, compared with just 34.6% in the year to June 2021. The rapid series of interest rate increases since late 2021 is hitting New Zealanders with a mortgage harder than anyone else; 63.3% of New Zealanders who are paying off their home loan say they are ‘worried about interest rates at the moment’, up from 23.1% in June 2021. Concern about interest rates has increased for renters and home owners as well, but at a much lower rate. Now around half of renters (50.1%) and home owners (49.2%) say they are worried about interest rates.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Twin RBA rate rises may be on horizon

Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 19-Apr-23

Morgan Stanley believes that the strength of the domestic economy means that the Reserve Bank of Australia may increase the cash rate by 25 basis points in both August and September. Shares in retail and property-related stocks have risen in recent weeks amid speculation that the RBA’s monetary policy tightening cycle may have ended following the pause in April. However, Morgan Stanley cautions that the rebound may be premature, given that inflation remains high and the official unemployment rate is steady at 3.5 per cent.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Apple Pay set to overtake Afterpay in usage in 2023

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Apr-23

The latest Roy Morgan Digital Payments Report shows that Afterpay is now used by over 3.3 million Australians (15.6% of the population). It is just ahead of Apple Pay, which is now used by over 3.2 million Australians (15.2%). However, current trends show that Apple Pay is poised to overtake Afterpay in the next few months. Apple Pay has increased its usage in the local market significantly from a year ago, up from 11.1% of Australians in February 2022, an increase of 4.1% points in a year. In contrast, usage of Afterpay has increased from 14.1% of Australians a year ago to 15.6%, an increase of just 1.5% points in a year. These new digital payment findings are from Roy Morgan Single Source, Australia’s leading consumer survey, derived from in-depth interviews with around 60,000 Australians annually.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AFTERPAY LIMITED, APPLE PAY

Big banks to miss future facing mining boom

Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 5-Apr-23

Tribeca Investment Partners portfolio manager John Stover says Australia’s major banks are not prepared for the new commodities boom that is being driven by critical minerals. The four major banks’ combined lending to the resources sector peaked at $64.7bn in 2015, but data from Bridgend Capital Advisory shows that this has since fallen by $25bn. Stover notes that many banks significantly reduced their mining and resources teams when the last commodities boom ended; this has left them with a dearth of skills, particularly with regard to commodities that will be vital to the transition to a low-carbon economy.

CORPORATES
TRIBECA INVESTMENT PARTNERS PTY LTD, BRIDGEND CAPITAL ADVISORY