K62 Finance

Union demands action over bank branch closures

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 14 : 22-Jan-25

The Finance Sector Union’s national secretary Julia Angrisano has urged federal government intervention to ensure that consumers still have access to bank branches. Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that 2,334 branches have been closed nationwide over the last seven years. The Bank of Queensland recently advised that it will close another 14 branches, in addition to several that were already slated to close. Agrisano says the government has failed respond to a review of banking in regional areas, where many people no longer have access to branch banks.

CORPORATES
FINANCE SECTOR UNION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ

ANZ probed on account interest

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joyce Moullakis, David Ross
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 22-Jan-25

The ANZ Bank is believed to be under renewed scrutiny by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, in the wake of recent claims that it deducted fees from the accounts of customers who had died. ANZ has now been accused of incorrectly calculating the interest on a range of savings and deposit accounts, including bonus interest rates. ANZ was embroiled in a similar scandal in 2015, when it was forced to compensate customers regarding the bonus interest they received over a seven-year period.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Faltering dollar unlikely to sway Reserve Bank rates call

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Cameron Micallef
The Australian – Page: 19 : 22-Jan-25

The Australian dollar fell sharply on Tuesday, after US President Donald Trump signalled that a tariff of 25 per cent could be imposed on imports from Canada and Mexico from the start of February. However, AMP’s chief economist Shane Oliver says the recent downturn in the value of the currency is unlikely to influence the Reserve Bank’s interest rate decision in February. Oliver contends that quarterly inflation data to be released in late January will be the key factor that the central bank will take into account.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

Risk of mortgage stress up in November after Reserve Bank decides not to cut interest rates

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 15-Jan-25

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,514,000 mortgage holders (26.8%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in November 2024. This represents a small increase on October but is 3.5% lower than the June figures prior to the Stage 3 tax cuts. Modelling by Roy Morgan shows that the number of mortgages ‘At Risk’ will fall by 26,000 in February 2025 to 11,488,000 (26.3% of mortgage holders) if the Reserve Bank drops interest rates to 4.10% at its first board meeting for the year. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 707,000 since May 2022 when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered to be ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 931,000 (16.9% of mortgage holders), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.6%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with more than 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Watchdog probes fee theft from dead people: ANZ in more strife

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Joyce Moullakis, David Ross
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 18-Dec-24

The ANZ Bank’s board is likely to face more pressure to address compliance issues in the wake of allegations that fees were deducted from the accounts of customers who had died. Sources have indicated that the Australian Securities & Investments Commission is considering enforcement action against ANZ’s retail banking arm in response to the scandal. Helen Bird from Swinburne University says it is "surprising and disappointing" that scandals of this nature are still occurring more than five years after AMP came under scrutiny by the Hayne royal commission for engaging in this conduct.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Outsider to lead ANZ into new era

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Lucas Baird, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 17 : 10-Dec-24

The ANZ Bank has advised that Nuno Matos will succeed CEO Shayne Elliott in mid-2025. Matos was previously the head of wealth management and personal banking at HSBC; he had also been considered for the role of CEO at Westpac, although the major bank opted to replace Peter King with internal candidate Anthony Miller. High Dive from Atlas Funds Managements says an external appointment will be able to help resolve cultural issues at ANZ. These include a bond trading scandal in its markets division, which effectively ruled out the head of institutional banking Mark Whelan as Elliott’s replacement.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, HSBC BANK PLC, ATLAS FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

ANZ’s Elliott to quit after nine years

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, Kylar Loussikian
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 23 : 9-Dec-24

The ANZ Bank is tipped to appoint an external candidate to succeed CEO Shayne Elliott, who is expected to step down within days. ANZ’s acquisition of Suncorp Bank for $4.9bn and a bond trading scandal are likely to be the key legacies of Elliott’s tenure at the helm, which began in 2016. ANZ has also scaled back its Asian operations under Elliott, while it has ramped up investment in platforms such as ANZ Plus. Meanwhile, ANZ has delivered a total return to shareholders of 111 per cent since Elliott became CEO; this higher than Westpac’s return but much lower than that of the Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank.

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

Aussie to drop materially in 2025, CBA warns

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 4-Dec-24

The Commonwealth Bank is bearish about the outlook for the Australian dollar in 2025, amid fears of a trade war when US president-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. The currency has fallen by 7.3 per cent since its most recent peak in September; it was fetching $US0.6470 on Tuesday, having reached a low of $US0.6432 last week. The Commonwealth Bank now expects the currency to fall to $US0.61 by September, but head of international equities Joseph Capurso says it could fall much further and faster if the trade war is more disruptive than anticipated.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Risk of mortgage stress eases for fourth straight month – the lowest for over 18 months since February 2023

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Nov-24

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,487,000 mortgage holders (26.2%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in October 2024. This is down 2.1% points since September, and 4.1% lower than the June figures prior to the Stage 3 tax cuts that increased household income for Australians. Modelling by Roy Morgan shows that the number of mortgages ‘At Risk’ will fall by 12,000 in December to 1,475,000 (25.9% of mortgage holders) if the Reserve Bank drops interest rates by 0.25% to 4.10% at its last board meeting for the year. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 680,000 since May 2022 when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increase. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered to be ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 928,000 (16.7% of mortgage holders), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.6%. These are the latest findings from Roy Morgan’s Single Source Survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted with over 60,000 Australians each year, including over 10,000 owner-occupied mortgage-holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

ANZ had early warning of probe

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 27-Nov-24

The ANZ Bank is continuing to attract scrutiny over its role in a $14 billion government bond placement in April 2023. The bank formally informed shareholders in mid-May 2024 that it is being investigated by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission with regard to the bond placement. ASIC had served ANZ with a formal notice of investigation in February, but sources have indicated that the bank’s senior management had been aware of the regulator’s interest in the bond deal in August 2023, when it requested access to documents concerning ANZ’s role in the transaction.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION