K62 Finance

RBA set to freeze rates trigger

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 & 18 : 10-Dec-18

Factors such as Australia’s sluggish GDP growth in the September quarter and the outlook for the housing market have prompted some economists and market analysts to forecast that official interest rates will remain on hold until 2020. They include Paul Bloxham of HSBC and Daniel Blake and Chris Nicol of Morgan Stanley. However, Shane Oliver of AMP Capital expects the cash rate to be cut rather than increased, most likely in the second half of 2019.

CORPORATES
HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, ORGANISATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

Reserve flags rate cut, cash splash

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Original article by Adam Creighton
The Australian – Page: 1 & 8 : 7-Dec-18

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s deputy governor Guy Debelle has indicated that there is potential for further monetary policy easing. The central bank has left the cash rate unchanged at 1.5 per cent since August 2016, and it has signalled in the past that a rate rise is more likely than a cut. Debelle has also indicated that the RBA could adopt a quantitative easing policy if it is considered necessary in order to stimulate the economy. He has also praised Labor’s fiscal stimulus at the onset of the global financial crisis, saying it was a key factor in the resilience of the domestic economy.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, FITCH RATINGS LIMITED, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, STANFORD UNIVERSITY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Mortgage customer satisfaction highest when obtained directly from bank branch

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 7-Dec-18

New research from Roy Morgan shows that Australian home loan customers who obtained their loan in person at a bank branch had a satisfaction rating of 78.7% in the six months to October 2018, compared to 74.2% for customers who used a mortgage broker. Other channels also had lower satisfaction, including mobile bankers (75.3%) and telephone (77.7%). It is important to note that even among more recent home loans (held for under six years), satisfaction with going into a branch to obtain the loan was 80.9% compared to 76.1% for mortgage brokers. The satisfaction of mortgage broker customers of the big four banks is well below the rating given by those that have obtained their loan in person at a branch. The biggest gap in satisfaction is among ANZ mortgage customers, where those using a broker have only 63.4% satisfaction, compared to 76.2% for those who used a branch directly. Of the major home loan banks, Bendigo Bank is clearly the satisfaction leader when dealing in person at a branch with 91.2%. Satisfaction with home loan customers using mortgage brokers is highest for St George (86.9%). Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey is based on in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 consumers per annum in their homes, including over 12,000 mortgage holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BENDIGO BANK, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED

Banks receive the most gripes at new complaints authority

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Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 6-Dec-18

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority has received some 6,522 complaints from consumers and small business owners since it was established on 1 November. Banks were the source of 2,367 complaints during AFCA’s first month of operation, ahead of insurers with 1,159 complaints. AFCA replaced the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Credit & Investment Ombudsman and the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL COMPLAINTS AUTHORITY, FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN SERVICE LIMITED, CREDIT AND INVESTMENT OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. SUPERANNUATION COMPLAINTS TRIBUNAL

Bank pay backlash to hit pair

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 16 : 4-Dec-18

The Australian Shareholders’ Association has urged investors to vote against the re-election of Craig Dunn as a director of Westpac at its upcoming AGM, as has proxy adviser CGI Glass Lewis. Both have concerns about his role as the former CEO of AMP and his chairmanship of Westpac’s remuneration committee. CGI has also recommended that Paula Dwyer not be re-elected as a director of the ANZ Bank at its AGM, while fellow proxy firm ISS also has concerns about Dwyer’s re-election. Australia’s AGM season has been quite turbulent so far, with a number of directors recording a significant percentage of votes against their re-election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, APA GROUP – ASX APA, COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, JAPARA HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX JHC, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED

ANZ staff morale low amid overhaul

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Original article by Ben Butler, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 23 : 30-Nov-18

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott has told the financial services royal commission that the bank’s staff must feel free to speak up about governance issues. The inquiry has been presented with the results of a survey which found that morale at ANZ has declined. Amongst other things, the proportion of employees who said they feel able to raise issues and concerns without fear of negative consequences has fallen by three per cent since 2016 to 67 per cent. Likewise, the proportion of employees who stated that they rarely look for another job has fallen from 63 per cent to 56 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

ANZ compo for millions of accounts

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Original article by Ben Butler, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 29-Nov-18

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott has conceded that it has taken far too long for the bank to compensate customers for losses incurred as a result of misconduct. Elliott has told the financial services royal commission that its remediation program is likely to embrace about two million accounts. However, he notes that some customers might have multiple account that qualify for compensation. Elliott also suggested that many of the governance issues at ANZ can be attributed to its business model under predecessor Mike Smith.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, ONEPATH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL

Henry: NAB board was too soft

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Original article by James Frost, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 28-Nov-18

National Australia Bank’s chairman Ken Henry appeared before the financial services royal commission again on 27 November. He told the inquiry that NAB’s "toxic" relationship with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission had affected the bank’s ability to compensate customers in a timely manner for losses incurred as a result of misconduct. He also conceded that NAB’s board could have done more to compel the bank’s executives to seek improved relations with ASIC.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

NAB chief warns: culture fix may be a decade away

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 27-Nov-18

National Australia Bank’s chairman Ken Henry has conceded that it could take up to 10 years to address issues with the bank’s culture that have been exposed by the financial services royal commission. He has told the inquiry that NAB has had the lowest compliance risk rating for all but one month in the seven years that he has been its board. Henry also said that it is more appropriate for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to have oversight of the banking sector’s culture than the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

No credit crunch: RBA blames investors for property slowdown

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 27-Nov-18

A regulatory crackdown on investor and interest-only property loans has seen growth in housing credit fall below five per cent in 2018, compared with around seven per cent in 2015. However, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s assistant governor Christopher Kent says high-quality borrowers can still gain access to credit at competitive rates. He notes that there appears to have been a larger fall in the average interest rate for investors than owner-occupiers in the last year.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY