K: Financial and Insurance Services

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

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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

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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

Australia warned it is lagging behind on cryptocurrency regulation

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Original article by Rhiann Whitson
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 26-Nov-24

The Australian cryptocurrency sector contends it is high time that the sector was properly regulated by means of legislation, with both businesses and consumers let down by a lack of regulation. The lack of legislation means that the Australian Securities Investment Commission is forced to take action case by case, with ASIC taking a number of enforcement actions against cryptobusinesses, claiming they have breached existing laws such as the Corporations Act. ASIC has noted that there are around 400 digital currency exchange changes registered with AUSTRAC, but that only about 40 crypto-related businesses are currently licensed with ASIC

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE

ASX tipped to test 8600 after shares surge

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 20-Nov-24

The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 briefly rose above 8,400 points for the first time on Tuesday. The local bourse’s rally has prompted Morgan Stanley to upgrade its forecast for the ASX 200 at the end of 2025 to 8,500 points; its previous year-end target was 8,100. Tony Sycamore from IG Markets is more bullish, suggesting that the ASX 200 could potentially be trading at 8,600 points by the end of next year. However, JP Morgan recently forecast that the index will fall to 7,900 points by the end of 2025.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, IG MARKETS LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

NAB sued over hardship silence

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Original article by David Ross
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 19-Nov-24

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has launched legal action against the National Australia Bank, alleging it breached its requirements to fairly deal with customers suffering financial hardship. ASIC claims the NAB failed to respond to at least 345 customers seeking help from it over several years, including people suffering medical emergencies and people fleeing domestic violence. The case against the NAB follows a similar case against Westpac, and ASIC chair Joe Longo noted it was a "sign of the times", with tougher economic conditions resulting in the financial sector having to deal with a rise in hardship cases.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Young Australians cut back in cost-of-living crisis while older people shop more, data shows

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Original article by Catie McLeod
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 19-Nov-24

Analysis of the de-identified payments of about seven million Commonwealth Bank customers has revealed that 18- to 29-year-olds reduced their spending in the September quarter by 2% when compared to the same period in 2023. Spending by people aged between 30 and 39 was also down when compared to the same period in 2023, but spending by people aged 60 to 69 was up by 3.9% overall, while over-70s increased their spending by 7.7%. Wade Tubman from the CBA said the differences in spending between younger and older Australians was in contrast to the period immediately after the pandemic, when younger people were quicker to start going out and spent more than older people.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

US election may hurt dealmakers

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 15 : 6-Nov-24

Mergers and acquisitions lawyer Sandy Mak from Corrs Chambers Westgarth says it is "hard to predict" just how the outcome of the presidential election will affect US investment in Australia and other countries. US companies are one of the largest foreign investors in Australia, and Mak says they could put plans to invest in Australia on hold if the election results in geopolitical uncertainty; she notes that corporate America has historically been wary of investing offshore in times of volatility and uncertainty.

CORPORATES
CORRS CHAMBERS WESTGARTH

Investors call time on ASX’s record rally

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 23-Oct-24

The Australian sharemarket has retreated from the record high of 8,384.5 points that it reached last week. The pullback follows a gain of 20 per cent over the last year, although Wall Street has risen by 39 per cent over the same period. Meanwhile, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200’s price-earnings ratio has risen from 14.4 times to 18.3 times over the last year. There is growing speculation that the market’s rally cannot be sustained, given that earnings growth is tipped to be flat in 2024 and just five per cent in 2025.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

Risk of mortgage stress eases for third straight month

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

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,724,000 mortgage holders (28.3%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in September 2024. This represents a decrease of 0.2% points on the June figures, prior to the Stage 3 tax cuts that increased household income for millions of Australians. However, modelling by Roy Morgan shows that the number of mortgages ‘At Risk’ will increase to new record highs in November and December if the RBA raises interest rates by 25 basis points in both months. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 917,000 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 1,082,000 (18.3% 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

Industry calls for more changes than just axing debit card fees

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Original article by David Ross, David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 16-Oct-24

The Reserve Bank of Australia has confirmed that it will investigate the regulation of the payments system, in the wake of the federal government’s proposal to ban debit card surcharges by 2026. Amongst other things, the RBA has indicated that its review will examine the costs that merchants incur when they accept card payments, and whether its surcharging framework is still ‘fit for purpose’. The Australian Banking Association’s CEO Anna Bligh argues that abolishing debit card surcharges would be a "win for consumers", although some observers contend that broader reform is needed.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION