K62 Finance

APRA warns on bank cyber risks

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 12-Oct-22

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chairman Wayne Byres has told a parliamentary committee hearing that a cyber attack on one of the nation’s financial institutions is inevitable. Byres said the sector has invested significantly in protecting their systems from hackers, but it is only a matter of time before a hacker is successful. He added that it is equally important to invest in response capabilities so any breaches are detected quickly and action is taken to limit the damage. S&P Global Ratings recently warned that Australia’s regional banks in particular are vulnerable to data breaches.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS

Homeowners rush to refinance their loans

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Oct-22

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that a record $19bn worth of home loans were refinanced in August. This is five per cent higher than in July, and 10 per cent higher than a year ago. Owner-occupiers refinanced some $12.8bn worth of home loans, while property investors refinanced $6.1bn worth of loans. The figures also show that new mortgage loan commitments fell 3.4 per cent to $27.4bn in August; there has been a 15 per cent decline in housing loan commitments since the Reserve Bank started increasing the cash rate in May.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Crisis as bank branches closed

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 15 : 21-Sep-22

The Finance Sector Union has urged the federal government to hold an inquiry into the impact of bank branch closures on customers and communities. The FSU’s national secretary Julia Angrisano says the union has been particularly concerned about the closure of branches in regional areas. BankWest has advised that it will close 14 branches in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia, while 29 branches in regional areas in Western Australia will have reduced trading hours. Angrisano has accused BankWest’s parent the Commonwealth Bank of putting "profits before people".

CORPORATES
FINANCE SECTOR UNION, BANKWEST, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

One in seven buy now, pay later customers had more than 20 loans last year, Choice survey shows

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 16-Sep-22

New data highlights the growing use of ‘buy now, pay later’ services in Australia and the need for greater regulation of the sector. Consumer group Choice has found that 14 per cent of consumers are using BNPL services to pay their energy bills, while one in six are using them to buy groceries. Patrick Veyret of Choice says it is shocking that Australians are being forced to use these services to pay for essentials. He notes that some people are taking out loans with up to 10 different BNPL providers. The sector will be subject to the same regulation as credit providers under reforms that have been flagged by the federal government.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CONSUMERS’ ASSOCIATION

Westpac closures take branch losses to 225 since last January

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Original article by Ayesha de Kretser
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 16-Sep-22

Westpac’s latest round of branch closures has been criticised by the Finance Sector Union, with national secretary Julia Angrisano also describing the bank as "mean and stingy" with regard to pay negotiations. Westpac will close another 24 branches across Australia, with the loss of 103 jobs; it previously closed 24 branches in both July and August, and a total of 225 branches have now been closed since the start of 2021. The Commonwealth Bank in turn will close three branches in NSW and South Australia.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, FINANCE SECTOR UNION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

‘Weaker housing’: Morgan Stanley slashes banks’ valuations

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Original article by Emma Rapaport
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 22-Jun-22

Morgan Stanley analysts have warned that a recession in Australia and New Zealand is becoming more likely. Factors such as the worsening economic outlook and rising interest rates have prompted Morgan Stanley to downgrade its valuations for Australia’s four major banks, given their exposure to the housing market. The share prices of the ‘big four’ banks have fallen sharply since the Reserve Bank increased the cash rate by a higher-than-expected 50 basis points in June, while another rate rise is likely in July.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Lowe prompts double jump in rate forecasts

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 16-Jun-22

Financial markets have now fully priced in a 50 basis point increase in the cash rate at the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monthly board meeting in July. Financial markets also expect official interests to rise to four per cent by early 2023, compared with just 0.85 per cent at present. Investment bank Goldman Sachs expects the cash rate to rise by 50 basis points in July and the following two months; it had anticipated 25 basis point rate rises in August and September prior to recent comments by RBA governor Philip Lowe regarding the outlook for inflation and interest rates.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD

ANZ remains prone to ‘liar loans’: UBS survey

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Original article by Ayesha de Kretser
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 27-Apr-22

Some 37 per cent of Australians who sought a mortgage loan in the second half of 2021 had lied on their application form, according to research by UBS. This compares with 41 per cent in 2020. The survey also shows that 55 per cent of ANZ Bank customers had included factual misstatements in their application form; this compares with 40 per cent of Westpac customers, 30 per cent of Commonwealth Bank customers and 19 per cent of National Australia Bank customers. John Storey of UBS says it is particularly concerning that 81 per cent of the ANZ customers who submitted applications for so-called ‘liar loans’ claim that they were advised to do so by their banker.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

NAB backflips on outrageous credit card cash ban

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Original article by Charlotte Grieve
Brisbane Times – Page: Online : 1-Mar-22

It was recently revealed that the National Australia Bank was getting staff to encourage customers to use options other than cash payments in NAB branches when making credit card payments. It denied that the policy amounted to a ban on cash payments in branches, but internal training documents suggest otherwise. However, following an angry reaction from NAB customers and staff, the NAB has done a backflip on its credit card cash ban, which had been described as "outrageous" by the Finance Sector Union.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, FINANCE SECTOR UNION

Mobile banking apps and the internet are more satisfying for customers than branch visits or phone banking

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 1-Mar-22

The new Roy Morgan Satisfaction with Banking Channels Report shows the CBA recording the highest customer satisfaction levels for branch visits, internet banking and mobile banking – using an app on a mobile phone or tablet – among the big four banks. The report also showed mobile banking and internet banking as the service channels with the highest customer satisfaction. As of December 2021, CBA was the strongest performer of the big four with the highest customer satisfaction across three of the service channels including mobile banking (90.8%), internet banking (87.8%) and branch banking (83.5%). The CBA had customer satisfaction of 76.3% for phone banking. There was little to split its competitors, with ANZ coming in second overall with 89.2% (mobile), 86.6% (internet), 83.2% (branch) and 76.6% (phone). Westpac followed with 87.9% (mobile), 86.1% (internet), 82.1% (branch) and the highest of the big four for phone banking (79.4%). NAB rounded out the big four with 89.8% (mobile), 86.5% (internet), 81.5% (branch) and 77.3% (phone). This new data comes from Roy Morgan Single Source, Australia’s most comprehensive consumer survey, derived from in-depth interviews with over 60,000 Australians each year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, 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