K62 Finance

ANZ-Suncorp deal no threat

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Original article by Glen Norris
The Australian – Page: 15 : 5-Dec-23

The ANZ Bank’s appeal against the blocking of its deal to buy Suncorp Bank continued before the Australian Competition Tribunal on Tuesday. Cameron Moore SC, who is representing Suncorp Group, contended that the $4.9bn deal would not undermine competition in the banking sector, as Suncorp Bank is a relatively small player that had until recently been losing market share in its home state of Queensland. He also argued that a merger between Suncorp Bank and Bendigo Bank would not make financial sense for shareholders of either company.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, SUNCORP BANK, AUSTRALIA. COMPETITION TRIBUNAL, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN

Westpac suffers online banking outage with customers shut out of accounts

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Original article by Martin Farrer
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 5-Dec-23

Westpac advised late on Monday evening that it was working to restore its mobile and online banking services following an outage that left customers unable to access their accounts. Westpac has attributed the outage which began at around 8pm to a ‘routine technology update’. Many people were unable to make payments via credit cards or mobile phone due to the outage, while others reported that they could log into Westpac’s platform but their accounts were missing. Some customers criticised Westpac for advising of the outage via social media rather than its website. Westpac had fully restored all affected services by 5.15am on Tuesday.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Mortgage stress eased in October before the RBA raised interest rates on Melbourne Cup Day

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 22-Nov-23

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,514,000 mortgage holders (30.1%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to October 2023. This period included three RBA meetings at which interest rates were left unchanged and was before the increase on Melbourne Cup Day. The figure for October represented a slight decrease on a month earlier as mortgage stress eased due to a combination of factors, such as increased household incomes, increased employment and reduced amounts borrowed and outstanding. Despite the slight easing in mortgage stress, this was only the third time in the history of the index that over 1.5 million mortgage holders were considered ‘At Risk’. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 707,000 since May 2022, when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 967,000 (19.7%), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.1%. 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

Over 1.57 million Australians are now At Risk of ‘mortgage stress’, representing 30.3% of mortgage holders

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Nov-23

New research from Roy Morgan shows that a record high 1,573,000 mortgage holders (30.3%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to September 2023; this is 7,000 higher than in August. The period encompassed three RBA meetings at which interest rates were left unchanged. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 766,000 since May 2022, when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases. The number of mortgage holders considered ‘Extremely At Risk’ is now numbered at 1,043,000 (20.5%) which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 15 years of 15.3%. 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

Economists warn Cup Day rate rise may not be last

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Original article by Cecile Lefort
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 1-Nov-23

The general consensus of economists polled by the Australian Financial Review is that the Reserve Bank will increase the cash rate by 25 basis points to 4.35 per cent on 7 November. Nine of the 35 economists expect the cash rate to peak at 4.6 per cent, implying that there will be at least one more rate rise beyond November. They include Challenger’s chief economist Jonathan Kearns, who was previously the central bank’s head of domestic markets. However, independent economist Stephen Koukoulas expects the cash rate to remain on hold for a fifth consecutive month in November.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CHALLENGER LIMITED – ASX CGF

Top economists see end to rate hikes, predict house price recovery

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Original article by Millie Muroi
The Age – Page: Online : 13-Sep-23

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s chief economist Stephen Halmarick says a falling inflation rate means that official interest rates have now most likely peaked. He expects consumer spending to begin to decline by the end of 2023, prompting the Reserve Bank to start easing monetary policy in 2024. Halmarick also forecasts that house prices will rise by seven per cent in 2023 and a further five per cent in 2024, citing factors such as rising migration levels and housing supply constraints. Besa Deda from Westpac also suggests that interest rates may have peaked, and she expects the cash rate to begin falling in the second half of 2024.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Banking for the rich fear: ANZ

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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

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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

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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

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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