K: Financial and Insurance Services

What it now costs to retire comfortably

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Original article by Anthony Keane
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Mar-24

Data from the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia shows that couples now require $72,148 a year to live comfortably in retirement, while single people need $51,278. The cost of a comfortable retirement increased by 3.5 per cent in 2023, below the official inflation rate of 4.1 per cent. The rising cost of insurance, electricity and food contributed to the increase in ASFA’s retirement standard for the December quarter. CEO Mary Delahunty says the compulsory super guarantee’s increase to 12 per cent by mid-2025 will help more people to reach ASFA’s comfortable retirement standard level.

CORPORATES
THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Lending malaise as home loans retreat

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Original article by Megan Neil
The Australian – Page: 19 : 8-Mar-24

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that the value of new housing loans fell by 3.9 per cent to $25.12bn in January; this followed a 4.1 per cent decline in December. The general consensus of economists had been for two per cent growth in home loans during January. The value of new owner-occupier loans fell by 4.6 per cent to $15.91bn, and lending to property investors was down 2.6 per cent to $9.21bn. Meanwhile, lending to first-home buyers was down 6.9 per cent, and the value of those loans fell by six per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Super fund satisfaction improves since low in July 2023 with strong performances from HESTA, Unisuper & REST Super

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Mar-24

New data from Roy Morgan’s Superannuation Satisfaction Report shows that overall satisfaction with the financial performance of super funds was 66.7% in January 2024. This is an increase of 1.7% points since the low reached in July 2023 (65.0%). There has been improvement across the different categories of super funds since the middle of last year. A standout performer over the last six months has been Self-Managed Funds, which have increased their customer satisfaction by 2.4% points to 76.8%; this is the highest level of customer satisfaction for Self-Managed Funds since April 2022. Customer satisfaction for Industry Funds has also increased significantly on six months ago, up by 1.8% points to 68.6%. Overall customer satisfaction for Public Sector Funds is up by 0.9% points from six months ago to 72.1%. However, customer satisfaction with Retail Funds is up by only 0.4% points to 60%. The report’s findings are from Roy Morgan Single Source, Australia’s most trusted consumer survey, compiled by in-depth interviews with over 60,000 Australians each year.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

ACCC cedes on Suncorp takeover

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Original article by Lucas Baird, James Eyers, Liam Walsh
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 6-Mar-24

The Australian Competition Tribunal has published its full reasons for approving the ANZ Bank’s $4.9bn deal to acquire the banking arm of Suncorp Group. It concluded amongst other things that it will not result in any substantive change in the structure of the market and is unlikely to lead to increased ‘coordination’ between the nation’s four major banks. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has advised that it will not appeal against the tribunal’s ruling. The federal government must also approve the deal on national interest grounds.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, SUNCORP BANK, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, AUSTRALIA. COMPETITION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

Australians lose nearly $1 billion a year in card surcharges and the RBA has warned banks it has to stop

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Original article by Samuel Yang
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 5-Mar-24

Analysis based on figures from the Reserve Bank has revealed that Australians are losing $960.26 million a year in card surcharges, which can be significantly reduced through proper implementation of least-cost routing (LCR). LCR is an RBA scheme that seeks to cut card payment processing fees for businesses, and RBA governor Michele Bullock has threatened to mandate it by the middle of the year if a target of 80 per cent of business terminals being enabled with LCR is not met by then.

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

More at risk of mortgage stress as rate rises take toll

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Original article by Paulina Duran
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 28-Feb-24

Data from Roy Morgan shows that a record 1.6 million Australians were ‘at risk’ of mortgage stress in the three months to January. The Roy Morgan report shows that an additional 802,000 people have had to spend up to 45 per cent of their after-tax household income on their mortgage repayments since the Reserve Bank began raising the cash rate, putting them at risk of mortgage stress. Roy Morgan CEO Michele Levine says another 29,000 home-loan borrowers would be at risk by April if the RBA increases the cash rate in March. Separate data shows that prime mortgage arrears among publicly securitised loans rose by 0.5 per cent to 0.97 per cent in the December quarter; Erin Kitson of S&P Global Ratings expects arrears rates to peak above one per cent.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS

Mortgage stress increased in January following RBA’s November rate rise to record high above 1.6 million

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 27-Feb-24

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1,609,000 mortgage holders (31.0%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to January 2024. This period included an interest rate increase on Melbourne Cup Day, with the RBA raising interest rates to 4.35%. The figure for January represented a new record high total for mortgage holders considered ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress, beating the previous record highs above 1.56 million in August and September 2023. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 802,000 since May 2022, when the RBA began a cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 994,000 (19.8% of mortgage holders), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 10 years of 14.3%. 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.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED

ANZ cleared for $4.9bn Suncorp deal

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Original article by Paulina Duran
The Australian – Page: 15 & 19 : 21-Feb-24

The ANZ Bank will overtake National Australia Bank as the nation’s third-biggest lender after receiving approval for its acquisition of Suncorp Bank. The Australian Competition Tribunal rejected the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission’s assertion that the $4.9bn deal would substantially lessen competition in sectors such as mortgage lending. The tribunal’s deputy president John Halleysays it was of the view that the small increase in ANZ’s market share arising from the merger would not significantly increase the likelihood of ‘co-ordination’ among the major banks in order to limit competition.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, SUNCORP BANK, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, AUSTRALIA. COMPETITION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION

US inflation and China woes reduce super growth to 1pc

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Original article by Hannah Wootton
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 20-Feb-24

Data from Chant West shows that the median growth superannuation fund posted a return of just one per cent in January. This compares with 2.7 per cent growth in December and a three per cent gain in January 2023. Mano Mohankumar of Chant West notes that a strong performance by Australian and international shares in January was offset by mixed results in emerging and bond markets. He adds that a rise in the US inflation rate and concerns about China’s economic outlook weighed on returns late in the month. The median growth fund gained 7.7 per cent in the year to 31 January, and 7.2 per cent over the last decade.

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CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD

Bendigo cool on ANZ plan

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Original article by Lucas Baird
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 20-Feb-24

The Australian Competition Tribunal’s decision on the ANZ Bank’s bid to acquire Suncorp Group’s banking arm will be announced today. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission blocked the deal in 2023. Bendigo & Adelaide Bank MD Marnie Baker says the ANZ-Suncorp deal is "not a good transaction for competition or consumers", although she has declined to state whether Bendigo will make an offer for Suncorp Bank if the ANZ deal is rejected. Meanwhile, Bendigo has posted a 2023-24 interim cash profit of $268.2m, which is five per cent lower than previously.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, SUNCORP BANK, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, AUSTRALIA. COMPETITION TRIBUNAL, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN