K: Financial and Insurance Services

Change agent’s mission to restore trust in AMP

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Original article by James Eyers, Jessica Gardner
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 & 22 : 23-Aug-18

AMP’s incoming CEO Francesco De Ferrari will receive a base salary of $2.2m when he takes up the role in December, while his remuneration package also includes incentive payments. He faces a major challenge in turning around AMP’s fortunes in the wake of the banking royal commission’s revelations. De Ferrari is currently the head of Credit Suisse’s private bank in Singapore, and AMP chairman David Murray has praised the corporate culture at Credit Suisse. Shares in AMP closed $0.06 lower at $3.39 on 22 August, after the stock began trading ex-dividend.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, CREDIT SUISSE AG, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

NAB withheld size of fee scandal from ASIC for 11 months

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 22-Aug-18

Australian financial services providers could be forced to repay clients more than $1bn over the fee-for-no-service scandal. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s deputy chairman Peter Kell has told the banking royal commission that just $260m has been refunded to date. Meanwhile, National Australia Bank informed ASIC in early November 2016 that clients affected by the scandal were owed $34.6m, but ASIC contends that NAB was aware of the extent of these liabilities some 11 months earlier. ASIC’s first report on the scandal had estimated that NAB owed just $12m.

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

Turmoil slashes $20bn from ASX

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 27 : 22-Aug-18

Political uncertainty is expected to continue to weigh on the Australian sharemarket, which recorded its largest single-day fall in five months on 21 August. The Australian dollar also fell sharply in the wake of the leadership spill, before recovering late in local trading. Analysts note that investors are concerned that the Coalition’s lack of unity could ensure that Labor wins the next election, which could in turn have negative implications for financial markets and the economy.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF HOME AFFAIRS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, WAM CAPITAL LIMITED – ASX WAM, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, PENGANA CAPITAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX PCG, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, INFIGEN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX IFN, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, MIRVAC GROUP – ASX MGR, HARVEY NORMAN HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX HVN, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Industry funds demand banks and super split

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 17 & 27 : 21-Aug-18

Industry Super Australia chairman Peter Collins says the banking royal commission’s revelations regarding retail superannuation funds warrant the separation of super from banking. Collins says those who thought that industry super funds might fare badly under the commission’s scrutiny got it wrong. He says the commission has shown that the industry funds sector was right to run its controversial "fox and henhouse" advertising campaign, which claimed that the $600 billion pool of default savings would be at risk if the government allowed the banks to access it.

CORPORATES
INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, HOST-PLUS, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COLONIAL FIRST STATE INVESTMENTS LIMITED, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Music to the ears of investors as the beats go on

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 21-Aug-18

The August corporate reporting season in Australia has generally been positive, with about half the companies that have reported to date announcing earnings and dividend payouts that met expectations. This has been reflected in share prices, with stocks that have beaten expectations rising by 2.8 per cent on average and those that failed to do so tending to fall by around three per cent. However, Jason Steed of JP Morgan notes that earnings per share forecasts have been downgraded for 29 per cent of stocks, while just nine per cent have been upgraded.

CORPORATES
JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, COLLECTION HOUSE LIMITED – ASX CLH, ARB CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX ARB, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, CHALLENGER LIMITED – ASX CGF, MINERAL RESOURCES LIHIR PTY LTD, PACT GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX PGH, COCHLEAR LIMITED – ASX COH, DOMINO’S PIZZA ENTERPRISES LIMITED – ASX DMP, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, ANSELL LIMITED – ASX ANN

NAB charges double on super

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Original article by Elizabeth Redman
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 20-Aug-18

The banking royal commission has spent the last two weeks grilling the superannuation sector over its fees and practices. Companies under the commission’s microscope have included National Australia Bank, with Australian Securities & Investments Commission deputy chairman Peter Kels stating that it planned to submit a brief to the Director of Public Prosecutions in regard to NAB’s "fee for no service" scandal. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that NAB unit MLC charges members of at least 10 super funds up to double the fees that are imposed by the fund’s external managers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, MLC LIMITED, THE VANGUARD GROUP INCORPORATED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, PERPETUAL LIMITED – ASX PPT, PACIFIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY LLC

Investors expect more solid profits

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 20 : 20-Aug-18

The S&P/ASX 200 has gained one per cent so far in August. Investor sentiment has been boosted by an earnings reporting season that has exceeded expectations, with more than 80 per cent of companies having posted higher profits than at the same time in 2017. Shane Oliver of AMP Capital also notes that the share prices about 60 per cent of companies have risen on the day their financial results were announced. BHP Billiton, Qantas and Woolworths are among about 70 major companies that are slated to release their latest results in the next week.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, COCA-COLA AMATIL LIMITED – ASX CCL, ATLAS FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, TRIBECA INVESTMENT PARTNERS PTY LTD, DOMAIN HILL PROPERTY GROUP PTY LTD, REA GROUP LIMITED – ASX REA, REALESTATE.COM.AU, CELESTE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, NEWCREST MINING LIMITED – ASX NCM, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO

NAB’s board met ASIC days before Hayne hit

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Original article by Pamela Williams
The Australian – Page: 17 & 20 : 17-Aug-18

Senior National Australia Bank executives held a meeting with Australian Securities & Investments Commission officials at the bank’s headquarters on 30 July. NAB executives subsequently fronted the banking royal commission in early August, after featuring prominently in its previous hearings. An NAB spokesman has indicated that the meeting with ASIC had been organised in late 2017 and such meetings are held regularly. Documents released by the inquiry on 15 August show that ASIC has accused NAB of a range of civil and criminal offences in relation to the "fee for no service" scandal.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE

Ticehurst supports lowering RBA inflation target

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 31 : 17-Aug-18

Several leading economists have urged the Reserve Bank of Australia to scale back its inflation target. Andrew Ticehurst of Nomura Australia argues that the RBA’s midpoint of the 2-3 per cent target range is higher than that of its counterparts in the US, New Zealand and the UK, while he notes that some Asian central banks have reduced their inflation target without any adverse impact. Ticehurst says the RBA should "fine-tune" the inflation target by reducing it to around two per cent.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BETASHARES CAPITAL LIMITED, UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY, BANK OF KOREA, BANK INDONESIA

NAB fee grab slammed by the watchdog

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 17 & 22 : 16-Aug-18

Documents released by the banking royal commission show that the Australian Securities & Investments Commission has criticised National Australia Bank over its lack of action in addressing the fee-for-no-service scandal. ASIC wrote to NAB in May to express its dissatisfaction with the bank’s proposed remedial action, stating that it did not constitute an "acceptable resolution" to the regulator’s concerns. ASIC has accused NAB of a range of civil and criminal offences.

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