K: Financial and Insurance Services

Comyn pledges to fix commission problems

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 19-Mar-18

Incoming Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Matt Comyn has alerted staff in its retail division that the week beginning 19 March could be uncomfortable for them. He says that submissions made to the banking royal commission during the coming week may include examples of where the CBA treated customers poorly. Cormyn, who will take over from Ian Narev in April, has given a commitment to fix any problems that the royal commission may unearth.

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

Local investors must factor in Fed rates hike

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 22 : 19-Mar-18

Futures pricing indicates that the Australian sharemarket is likely to rise when trading resumes on 19 March. The banking royal commission and Labor’s imputation credit reforms are likely to be a key focus for investors in the coming week, along with the latest jobs data and the minutes from the Reserve Bank’s monthly board meeting. The first meeting of the Federal Reserve under new chairman Jerome Powell will also attract scrutiny, amid expectations of a rise in US interest rates.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, BNP PARIBAS SA

M&A’s hot sectors to drive healthy flow

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 19-Mar-18

Data from Dealogic shows that $US13.1bn ($A17bn) worth of mergers and acquisitions have been announced so far in 2018, which is 25 per cent higher than the same period in 2017. Herbert Smith Freehills partner Tony Damian anticipates strong M&A activity during 2018, citing healthcare as a sector which is likely to continue to attract suitors. The law firm also identifies financial services, renewable energy and infrastructure as Australian sectors in which M&A activity is likely to be high.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, EXXONMOBIL CORPORATION, AWE LIMITED – ASX AWE, MITSUI AND COMPANY LIMITED, I-MED/MIA NETWORK LIMITED, PERMIRA PRIVATE EQUITY LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, COALITION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, COLES SUPERMARKETS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, QUALCOMM INCORPORATED, BROADCOM CORPORATION, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, LAZARD PTY LTD, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD

Mortgage customer satisfaction higher when deal directly with bank

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Mar-18

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey, which was carried out in the six months to January 2018, has found that home loan customers’ satisfaction with banks when using a mortgage broker was only 77.3%. This compares to 80.3% when home loans were obtained in person at a branch. Even among more recent home loans (held for under six years) satisfaction with going directly into a branch was 81.7%, compared to 78.7% for mortgage brokers. Home loan customers of Bendigo Bank who obtained their loan in person at a branch had the highest satisfaction with 92.6%, followed by Bankwest (87.3%) and St George (86.8%). The best of the big four was NAB with 82.4%, followed by ANZ (79.7%). All of the largest banks, with the exception of Westpac, had higher satisfaction when going direct rather than using mortgage brokers. Meanwhile, satisfaction when using mortgage brokers was highest for St George with 85.6%, Bankwest (82.1%) and Suncorp Bank (82.0%). Each of the big four were below the market average (77.3%) for home loan customer satisfaction when using a mortgage broker, with the best of them being NAB (76.4%) and Westpac (75.7%).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, BENDIGO BANK, BANK OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, SUNCORP BANK

End is nigh for big four: Carnegie

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 29 : 16-Mar-18

Maile Carnegie, the ANZ Bank’s group executive for digital banking, forecasts that the four major banks will no longer dominate the Australian market within 5-10 years, with banks opting to focus on certain segments of the market. She also forecasts a greater role for technology in delivering banking services, while banks that provide services that customers actually want will be the most successful in future.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, GOOGLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMAZON.COM INCORPORATED, ALIBABA.COM CORPORATION, UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, APPLE INCORPORATED

Credit Suisse picks top takeover targets

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Original article by Simon Evans
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 14-Mar-18

Hasan Tevfik of Credit Suisse expects mergers and acquisitions activity in Australia to remain strong during 2018, citing factors such as healthy balance sheets and growing business confidence. Credit Suisse has identified 31 listed stocks that could potentially become takeover targets in 2018. They include Santos, Whitehaven Coal, Nine Entertainment Company, Fairfax Media, Ardent Leisure Group, DuluxGroup, Origin Energy and Caltex Australia.

CORPORATES
CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED – ASX WHC, NINE ENTERTAINMENT COMPANY HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX NEC, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, ARDENT LEISURE GROUP – ASX AAD, DULUXGROUP LIMITED – ASX DLX, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, CALTEX AUSTRALIA LIMITED – ASX CTX, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, SOUTHERN CROSS MEDIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX SXL, ADELAIDE BRIGHTON LIMITED – ASX ABC, NUFARM LIMITED – ASX NUF, PRIMARY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX PRY, SYRAH RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX SYR, APA GROUP – ASX APA, BLACKMORES LIMITED – ASX BKL, CHALLENGER LIMITED – ASX CGF, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, PENFOLDS WINES PTY LTD, CHINA NATIONAL CEREALS, OILS AND FOODSTUFFS IMPORT AND EXPORT CORPORATION, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, UNIBAIL-RODAMCO

NAB first up at banking royal commission

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 13-Mar-18

National Australia Bank executive Anthony Waldron is scheduled to be the first banker to appear before the financial services royal commission. He is expected to be quizzed about NAB’s "introducer program" and fraudulent mortgage loan applications. It is understood that he will tell the commission that NAB has now made the eligibility criteria for the program more stringent. Waldron is also expected to rebut claims by the Finance Sector Union that NAB did not discipline senior staff in regard to the fradulent loan applications.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, FINANCE SECTOR UNION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Bear market might be just around corner

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 13-Mar-18

Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 has gained 90 per cent since reaching a low in March 2009. US markets have been the driving force behind the nine-year global bull market. However, Morgan Stanley has identified a number of factors that could be an indicator of a looming bear market. These include strong gains in the last 12 months of a bull market, outperformance by emerging market equities and a widening of credit spreads. Meanwhile, John Higgins of Capital Economics expects the S&P 500 to fall to 2,300 points by the end of 2019.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, CAPITAL ECONOMICS LIMITED, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, HANG SENG INDEX, MARTIN CURRIE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED

Super sows seeds in agriculture

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 18 & 22 : 12-Mar-18

Hostplus chief investment officer Sam Sicilia says the $A700 billion industry superannuation fund sector wants to boost its investment in agriculture. However, it does not want to do so in an ad-hoc fashion, such as by acquiring individual dairy farms, as investing in this fashion yields lower returns than from other investments, such as infrastructure. He says that the sector is thinking of setting up a joint investment company that would have the backing of major industry funds.

CORPORATES
HOST-PLUS, VICSUPER PTY LTD, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, FIRST STATE, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, RETAIL EMPLOYEES SUPERANNUATION PTY LTD

CBA executive was warned of possible BBSW investigation

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Original article by Ben Butler, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 9-Mar-18

The Federal Court has released documents filed by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission in its case against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for allegedly manipulating the bank bill swap rate. The documents show that CBA executives and employees had discussed influencing the BBSW as far back as 2001. Amongst other things, CBA executive Paul Bennett told former treasurer Lyn Cobley in 2011 that "aggressive" behaviour in the BBSW market by a rival bank could attract regulatory scrutiny.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, PIMCO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD