K62 Finance

CBA loses 12 million customer statements and keeps it secret

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-May-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has belatedly admitted that it misplaced data on the financial transactions of 19.8 million accounts. The data breach occurred in 2016, when a subcontractor lost tape drives that contained more than a decades’ worth of financial transactions. CBA has indicated that it notified regulators of the incident but decided that it did not need to inform customers of the breach.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BUZZFEED PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN INFORMATION COMMISSIONER

Byres puts spotlight on incentives

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Eyers, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 3-May-18

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chairman Wayne Byres has indicated that the structure of incentives in the financial services industry is currently a bigger concern for APRA than the level of remuneration. He notes that scandals in the sector have largely arisen when incentives have focused too much on growth and sales targets. Byres adds that although the general public’s trust in financial services providers has been tarnished by recent scandals in the sector, there is still a lot of trust in the underlying financial strength of such institutions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

No change in rate, and RBA predicting more economic acceleration

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 2-May-18

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to leave official interest rates unchanged on 1 May was widely anticipated. The cash rate has now been on hold for an unprecedented 21 months. RBA governor Philip Lowe said the central bank still expects an increase in wages and inflation to be gradual, as will a fall in the unemployment rate. However, Lowe again said the Australian economy is likely to expand by more than three per cent in 2018 and 2019, compared with just 2.4 per cent in 2017.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

CBA stung: pay cuts for executives

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 1 & 6 : 2-May-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia will implement all 35 recommendations of an independent panel that was commissioned to examine its governance, culture and accountability. CEO Matt Comyn says the bank has already made a number of changes since the report was commissioned by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority in the wake of Austrac’s money-laundering investigation. Amongst other things, senior executives will not receive bonuses and some have agreed to a pay cut.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Stress test reveals risk for Australian banks

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 28 : 1-May-18

Fitch Ratings’ mortgage "stress test" of Australia’s major banks shows that they could be vulnerable if a sharp downturn in the housing market were accompanied by a decline in consumer spending and an increase in business lending losses. Fitch warns that a sharp rise in the unemployment rate could trigger a housing market slump, but the ratings agency concludes that the four major banks could withstand such a downturn provided that other key metrics were not affected.

CORPORATES
FITCH RATINGS LIMITED, 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

APRA to unveil CBA report this week

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 30-Apr-18

An independent panel has spent more than six months examining the Commonwealth Bank’s governance and culture on behalf of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. The panel, which consists of corporate director Jillian Broadbent, former Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Graeme Samuel and former APRA chairman John Laker, is due to report its findings to APRA on 30 April, with APRA to make the findings public in the next few days. It is likely that the panel will be critical of a lack of emphasis on risk culture at the bank, and of its investments in risk systems.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE

APRA ends investor loan growth cap

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Thomson, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 27-Apr-18

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chairman Wayne Byres says the major banks have improved their lending standards, so a 10 per cap on growth in lending to residential property investors is no longer necessary. The cap will no longer enforced if banks can demonstrate that they have remained below it for the last six months and that they have complied with APRA’s requirements with regard to loan serviceability. Omkar Joshi of Regal Funds Management does not expect removing the cap to have a significant impact on the banks, given that their lending growth is below this level.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, REGAL FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, TEACHERS MUTUAL BANK LIMITED

CBA looks at selling advice firms

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 24-Apr-18

The Commonwealth Bank is said to be reviewing its ownership of the Count Financial and Financial Wisdom financial planning groups. An announcement on a possible sale of the two groups could be made in the second half of 2018. The banking royal commission’s revelations have prompted banks to consider their ownership of financial planning groups, amid concern about the potential for conflicts of interests. The CBA paid $A373 million for Count Financial in 2011, while it assumed ownership of Financial Wisdom when it acquired the Colonial Group in 2000.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COUNT FINANCIAL LIMITED, FINANCIAL WISDOM LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, COLONIAL GROUP, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED

CBA charges dead customers for advice

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 20-Apr-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has apologised to the families of deceased customers who had continued to be charged fees for financial advice after their death. The banking royal commission has been told that four deceased customers of CBA subsidiary Count Financial had been charged fees, in one case for more than 10 years after their death. The inquiry has also been told that CBA had been made aware of a fees-for-no-service scandal at Count Financial in November 2012, but it did not inform ASIC until 2014.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COUNT FINANCIAL LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

CBA reputation hammered by series of scandals

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 18 : 19-Apr-18

The Commonwealth Bank is rated 57th in the Reputation Institute’s latest Australian Corporate Reputation Index, compared with 36th previously. The index was compiled in February and March, and followed a series of scandals and executive departures at the bank. However, the positions of Australia’s other three major banks were largely unchanged in the latest index. Air New Zealand has the highest ranking in the index for the second successive year, followed by Toyota and Qantas.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, REPUTATION INSTITUTE PTY LTD, AIR NEW ZEALAND LIMITED – ASX AIZ, TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION AUSTRALIA LIMITED, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, APPLE PTY LTD, MURRAY GOULBURN CO-OPERATIVE COMPANY LIMITED, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, ENERGYAUSTRALIA PTY LTD