K62 Finance

Big banks make overtures to home buyers

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

Higher bank capital to bite investors, clients

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 21-Jul-15

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has ruled that the nation’s major banks – and Macquarie Group – will need to hold more capital against residential mortgages. The average risk weighting on mortgage loans will rise from around 16 per cent to at least 25 per cent from 1 July 2016. Jarrod Martin of Credit Suisse estimates that the increased capital requirements will result in a modest rise in mortgage interest rates, while Richard Wiles of Morgan Stanley forecasts that dividend payouts will be reduced as a result of the reforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, CUSTOMER OWNED BANKING ASSOCIATION, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Dipping Australian dollar tipped to drop below US60c

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 21-Jul-15

Deltec International Group’s Atul Lele says further interest rate cuts and fiscal policy easing are needed in Australia due to the country’s uncertain economic outlook. He says the economic downturn in Canada is likely to be replicated in Australia, and forecasts that the Australian dollar will fall below the $US0.70 level by the end of 2015. He also warns of the potential for it to fall below $US0.60.

CORPORATES
DELTEC INTERNATIONAL GROUP, BANK OF CANADA