K62 Finance

Meet Macquarie: The $50bn investment bank

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 15 & 21 : 17-Jan-20

Macquarie Group’s shares closed 1.4 per cent higher at a record $143.47 on 16 January; this compares with just $14.75 in early 2009, as the global financial crisis took its toll on investment banks. Macquarie now boasts a market capitalisation of $50.85bn, while it has more than $560bn worth of asset under management. Macquarie posted a profit of $1.46bn for the six months to September, an increase of 11 per cent, although CEO Shemara Wikramanayake has flagged a lower full-year profit than previously.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

RBA warns on buy now, pay later dangers

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Original article by Gerard Cockburn
The Australian – Page: 14 : 16-Jan-20

Documents released under Freedom of Information laws shows that the Reserve Bank of Australia had expressed concern about the growth of ‘buy now, pay later’ platforms in March 2019. The internal memorandum cautioned that the rapid growth in such platforms is beginning to present a risk to financial stability, and noted that some consumers may not fully understand the risks associated with these platforms. However, the central bank also concluded that buy now, pay later services can be more beneficial to some consumers than credit cards.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AFTERPAY LIMITED – ASX APT, ZIP CO LIMITED – ASX Z1P, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Open banking rules too tough, say start-ups

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 15-Jan-20

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission is responsible for the accreditation of financial services providers under the federal government’s ‘open banking’ regime. However, Fintech Australia has criticised the complexity of the process, and notes that it is expected to cost financial technology companies between $50,000 and $100,000 to gain accreditation. Fintech Australia contends that this cost will be prohibitive for many business start-ups. The open banking regime will commence in July, after initially being slated to begin in February.

CORPORATES
FINTECH AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Westpac pays bushfire mortgages

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 14-Jan-20

Westpac has revealed details of its support package for victims of the nation’s bushfire crisis. Amongst other things, the bank will make mortgage repayments on behalf of customers whose primary residence was lost in the bushfires. This will apply for one year, and payments will be capped at $1,200 per month. Personal customers will also receive interest-free loans to cover the gap between insurance payouts and rebuilding costs, and business customers will be offered low-interest loans. Westpac and its major rivals have also made large donations to bushfire relief appeals.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RED CROSS SOCIETY, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS

Banks to bear cost of blazes: Morgan Stanley

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 14-Jan-20

Morgan Stanley has warned that the bushfires crisis will have a direct financial cost on Australian banks, including an increase in insurance claims and loan losses. S&P expects loan arrears to increase in the wake of the bushfires, although rival ratings agency Moody’s says the proportion of loans that are affected by the bushfires is likely to be relatively small. Morgan Stanley adds that factors such as the impact of the bushfires on retail spending will have the biggest impact on bank earnings.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED

RBA says no to Facebook’s new currency

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 10-Jan-20

Facebook’s proposed Libra cryptocurrency should not be allowed to proceed in Australia without major regulation, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia. The RBA expressed this view in a submission to the Senate Select Committee on Financial Technology and Regulatory Technology, with the RBA querying whether there would be much demand for Libra from consumers. The RBA stated Australians were already well served by a range of inexpensive and efficient real-time payment methods.

CORPORATES
FACEBOOK INCORPORATED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Rate cut odds shorten as bushfires hit economy

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 14 : 9-Jan-20

The prospect of an official interest rate cut in February has increased from 38 per cent to almost 60 per cent in the wake of the bushfires crisis. Katrina Ell of Moody’s Analytics says the odds of a rate cut had already been high, while she warns that agriculture, tourism, household spending and productivity are likely to be particularly hard hit by the disaster. Meanwhile, Capital Economics’ analysis suggests that a sharp fall in tourist numbers and farm production could reduce economic growth by about 0.1 per cent in the March quarter.

CORPORATES
MOODY’S ANALYTICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

NAB pledges 3-year disaster reprieve

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Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 8-Jan-20

National Australia Bank has increased its bushfire disaster relief fund to $4m and advised that customers who have been affected by the catastrophe will be given three years to repay their loans. NAB has also indicated that it will provide emergency grants to business and agriculture customers, in addition to retail customers. The Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ Bank will also provide loan relief to customers who have been affected by the bushfires.

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

APRA blasts banks over risk failures

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 8-Jan-20

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is undertaking on-site reviews of the governance, culture, risk and accountability frameworks of the nation’s major banks. APRA chairman Wayne Byres says the initial findings show that changes to these frameworks are needed. Byres has signalled that smaller banks and other financial services providers will also be held accountable. APRA is also APRA is revising the CPS 220 prudential standard.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ALLIANZ AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE

US rates likely to stay on hold, Fed indicates

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Original article by James Dean
The Australian – Page: 14 : 6-Jan-20

The minutes of the Federal Reserve’s December meeting show that the US central bank expects official interest rates to remain unchanged for some time, although this is likely to depend on the economic outlook. Some Federal Reserve officials expressed concern that an extended low interest rate environment may encourage ‘excessive risk-taking’. Meanwhile, former Federal Reserve chairman contends that the central bank has options other than quantitative easing and forward guidance to stimulate the economy in the event of a downturn.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD