ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence stutters

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 12-Aug-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia fell 0.4 per cent to 112.5 in the week ended 9 August 2015, after rising 5.5 per cent over the previous three weeks. Households’ views of their current finances declined 2.7 per cent while expectations of the economic outlook declined over both the next year and next five years, by 1.5 per cent and 5.3 per cent respectively. ANZ Bank chief economist Warren Hogan says that the Australian consumer confidence "remains highly vulnerable to a negative economic or financial shock".

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Westpac tips Aussie at US70c by end of 2015

Original article by Rose Powell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 11-Aug-15

The Australian dollar is likely to continue to fall. Westpac expects the currency to decline to $US0.70 at the end of 2015. Westpac chief economist Bill Evans explains that the bank revised its forecast from $US0.72 to reflect lower forecast for global growth for both 2015 and 2016.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, OANDA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Big banks make overtures to home buyers

Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 48 : 6-Aug-15

Australian lenders are actively targeting the owner-occupier segment of the residential property market, due to new restriction on lending to property investors. Westpac-owned regional banks are offering a range of incentives for owner-occupiers, while some smaller lenders are reducing their loan-to-value ratios in a bid to gain market share from their larger peers.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, CAPITAL HOMELOANS PTY LTD, BLUEBAY HOME LOANS PTY LTD, LIBERTY FINANCIAL PTY LTD, MORTGAGE AND FINANCE ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence edges higher

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Aug-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rose by 0.4 per cent to 112.9 in the week ended 2 August 2015. Consumer confidence has recovered from the lows experienced three weeks ago (up 5.5 per cent from the recent low). However, confidence remains subdued and is down 1.8 per cent compared with a year ago. While an improvement in consumers’ views about the economic outlook has helped the lift in overall confidence more recently, views towards current financial conditions remain the highlight. Consumers’ view of their personal finances compared with a year ago reached the highest levels in the history of the weekly confidence survey.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence edges higher

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Aug-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rose by 0.4 per cent to 112.9 in the week ended 2 August 2015. Consumer confidence has recovered from the lows experienced three weeks ago (up 5.5 per cent from the recent low). However, confidence remains subdued and is down 1.8 per cent compared with a year ago. While an improvement in consumers’ views about the economic outlook has helped the lift in overall confidence more recently, views towards current financial conditions remain the highlight. Consumers’ view of their personal finances compared with a year ago reached the highest levels in the history of the weekly confidence survey.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Mobile banking tipped to wipe 600 branches

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 : 3-Aug-15

A UBS report forecasts that the growing shift to the use of mobile banking services will result in a 5.6 per cent reduction in the number of bank branches globally. Australian bank executives who participated in the UBS survey expect local bank branch numbers to be slashed by 11 per cent in coming years, which would equate to 603 branches. The survey also forecasts that the proportion of banking transactions carried out using mobile technology will rise from 25 per cent to 46 per cent in the next three years.

CORPORATES
UBS AG, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, SCENTRE GROUP – ASX SCG, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, NAB VENTURES

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Creeps Higher

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Jul-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rose by 0.6 per cent to 112.5 in the week ended 26 July 2015. This follows a rise of 4.5 per cent in the previous week, driven by easing concerns around the Greece debt crisis and China stock market volatility. Despite this bounce, consumer confidence remains subdued and is down 3.2 per cent compared with this time in 2014. The sub-index for households’ finances in the next year rose by 1.1 per cent, but the sub-indices for confidence in the economic outlook over the short-term and medium term fell by 1.4 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Westpac’s $1m-a-day IT glitch

Original article by James Eyers, Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 28-Jul-15

The Commonwealth and ANZ banks increased their mortgage interest rates for property investors in late July 2015, while cutting fixed interest rates for owner-occupiers. However, Westpac and National Australia Bank currently have a single reference rate for both types of customers, which has forced the latter to increase interest rates for both. Westpac’s IT systems do not allow it to charge different interest rates at present, which is said to be costing it about $A1.15m each day.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. FOREIGN INVESTMENT REVIEW BOARD, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

ANZ eyes Esanda sale to raise $1.5b

Original article by Clancy Yeates, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 22-Jul-15

The ANZ Bank aims to offload its Esanda personal finance business by mid-2016, while the banking major has also flagged the sale of some Asian assets. The sale of Esanda is likely to be worth about $A1.5bn, which will significantly boost ANZ’s capital ratio ahead of the introduction of new capital requirements in July 2016. It is estimated that ANZ will need to lift its capital by around $A2.3bn in total.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ESANDA FINANCE CORPORATION LIMITED, PT PANIN BANK, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Bounces

Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 21-Jul-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rose by 4.5 per cent to 111.8 in the week ended 19 July 2015, partially reverses the eight per cent fall over the previous two weeks. The bounce was likely driven by easing concerns around international events, as the Chinese stock market rebounded and Greece reached an agreement with its creditors. The sub-index on "economic conditions in the next year" rose by 10.8 per cent, and the sub-index on "economic conditions in next five years" rose by 7.1 per cent.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ