K62 Finance

KKR snares GE Capital arm for $8.2b

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Original article by Sarah Thompson, Sally Patten, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 16-Mar-15

The Australasian consumer finance division of GE Capital will be sold to KKR & Company, Deutsche Bank and Varde Partners. The consortium will pay $A8.2bn for the business, whose operations include credit cards, personal loans and sales finance. The KKR-led consortium was one of four groups that made binding bids for the business, which GE put on the market in late 2014

CORPORATES
GE CAPITAL CORPORATION, KKR AND COMPANY LP, KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS AND COMPANY, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, VARDE PARTNERS INCORPORATED, TPG CAPITAL LP, ONTARIO TEACHERS’ PENSION PLAN, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP, LIBERTY FINANCIAL PTY LTD, GOVERNMENT OF SINGAPORE INVESTMENT CORPORATION PTE LTD, APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT LLC, JC FLOWERS AND COMPANY LLC, PEPPER AUSTRALIA, QATAR INVESTMENT AUTHORITY, CREDIT SUISSE AG, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, CITIGROUP INCORPORATED, MOELIS AND COMPANY

Lower test will add fuel to the fire for shareholder class actions

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Original article by John Emmering, Michael Legg
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 13-Mar-15

In most cases, shareholder class actions in Australia are based on alleging causation between losses incurred by shareholders and directors’ behaviour. Until now, Australian courts have required proof of individualised reliance. The Federal Court’s observations in the case against Babcock & Brown directors are likely to stimulate discussion of causality in class actions

CORPORATES
BABCOCK AND BROWN LIMITED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, DOWNER EDI LIMITED – ASX DOW, ARASOR CORPORATION, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES, JONES DAY

NAB leads $8b mortgage bond rush as investor demand builds

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 13-Mar-15

There has been a spike in activity in Australia’s residential mortgage-backed securities market in 2015, with issuance in the year to date topping $A8.2bn. This compares with just $A4.8bn during the same period in 2014. National Australia Bank is the latest player to venture into the securitisation market, issuing $A1.75bn worth of such securities with a triple-A rating

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, RESIMAC LIMITED, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, CREDIT UNION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

Good value still out there for the willing

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 12-Mar-15

There has been strong demand for corporate bonds among yield-seeking investors in recent years. Craig MacDonald of Standard Life says long-term, lower-rated corporate bonds still offer value for investors, and he is actively seeking to invest in such assets. However, he favours cash holdings at present rather than short-term bonds. MacDonald adds that Standard Life’s corporate bond fund is likely to achieve a lower return in 2015 than in 2014

CORPORATES
STANDARD LIFE PLC, CEMEX SA

CBA to feast on growing SME pie

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Original article by Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 12-Mar-15

Macquarie Group is upbeat about the outlook for the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), lifting its share price target from $A99 to $A101. Michael Wiblin of Macquarie believes that CBA in particular is in a strong position among the four major banks to increase its share of the small and medium enterprise banking market. He notes that the ANZ Bank and National Australia Bank seem to be losing market share to CBA in this sector

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ONDECK, KABBAGE, GOLDMAN SACHS AND PARTNERS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Businesses trading offshore will capitalise on ‘sweet spot’

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Original article by Timna Jacks, Lucille Keen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 12-Mar-15

The Australian dollar reached a low of $US0.7588 on 11 March 2015. Anthony Halas, the CEO of swimwear group Seafolly, says his company’s domestic margins have been affected by the falling currency, but notes that the business has benefited from its international expansion. Hybrid Electronics proprietor Walter Berryman says his firm has also benefited from the lower dollar, as its purchasing and sales are in US dollars and its manufacturing costs are in the domestic currency

CORPORATES
SEAFOLLY PTY LTD, HYBRID ELECTRONICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, McLACHLAN TOURS

ASX chief puts weight behind Murray recommendations

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Original article by James Chessell
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 11-Mar-15

The final report of the Australian Government’s financial system inquiry included recommendations on the future regulation of the corporate bond market. ASX CEO Elmer Funke Kupper has urged bipartisan parliamentary support for the proposed reforms, arguing that issuing retail corporate bonds in particular is costly and time consuming in Australia. He notes that the disclosure and prospectus requirements are much more onerous that when raising capital on the sharemarket

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Australian dollar could plummet below US60c: Credit Suisse

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Original article by Karen Maley
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 & 17 : 10-Mar-15

The Australian dollar was buying $US0.7693 late in trading on 9 March 2015, and Ric Deverell of Credit Suisse is bearish about the currency’s outlook. He expects the dollar to fall below the $US0.70 level, and warns that it could potentially fall below $US0.60. He cites factors such as the prospect of monetary policy tightening in the US later in 2015, which will in turn discourage the carry trade. Deverell is also upbeat about the Australian economy, noting that it is still relatively strong

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD

Multibrand strategy baffles bank customers

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 10-Mar-15

A Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) submission to the financial system inquiry criticised Australia’s major banks for failing to adequately disclose their ownership of multibrands. A survey carried out by Essential Research on behalf of COBA found that nearly 75 per cent of respondents said the banks fail to do so, while more than 50 per cent were not sure which bank owns sub-brands such as Bank of Melbourne or Bankwest

CORPORATES
CUSTOMER OWNED BANKING ASSOCIATION, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, BANK OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, UBANK, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, GROWTH SOLUTIONS GROUP PTY LTD, ONEPATH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Virgin predicts lag before revival

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Original article by Matt O’Sullivan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 6-Mar-15

Virgin Australia Holdings CEO John Borghetti says it will take some time for a lower Australian dollar to stimulate growth in the number of foreign tourists. The full impact is most likely to be experienced in the second half of 2015. The airline is expanding its regional routes. From 25 May 2015, Virgin will offer six flights a week between Sydney and Tamworth

CORPORATES
VIRGIN AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX VAH, SKYWEST AIRLINES LIMITED, QANTASLINK, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, ALLIANCE AVIATION SERVICES LIMITED – ASX AQZ, SKYTRANS AIRLINES, BRINDABELLA AIRLINES, VINCENT AVIATION (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD