Macquarie’s plan to grab more market share in deposits

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 11-Feb-26

Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that Macquarie Bank’s household deposits topped $100bn for the first time in December. Macquarie’s deposits grew by 3.6 per cent in December, outperforming all other banks. Head of personal banking Ben Perham says Macquarie aims to increase its market share with regard to term deposits, which is curently one per cent; in contrast, its share of transaction and savings accounts is now seven per cent. Meanwhile, its home loan market share has risen to 6.8 per cent, and Perham says it is approving mortgage loans "considerably faster" than other lenders.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Interest rate increases set to hit mortgage holders in Victoria, Queensland, and Tasmania the hardest

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 10-Feb-26

The most recent Roy Morgan data on mortgage stress shows that 24.5% of mortgage holders are now ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress. Last week’s interest rate rise is expected to increase this to 25.3%, and a 25 basis point interest rate rise in March to 4.1% would increase this to 27.2% (1,322,000 mortgage holders). A deep dive into Roy Morgan’s data on mortgage stress by State shows that the situation is worst in Tasmania; 29.8% of mortgage holders are classified as ‘At Risk’, and this will increase by 3.8% points to 32.6% if the Reserve Bank increases interest rates again in March. In clear second place is Victoria with 27.2% of mortgage holders classified as ‘At Risk’ and set to increase to 29.9% (up 2.7% points) following another RBA interest rate increase. However, a potential RBA interest rate increase will hit hardest in Queensland and would mean 26.8% of mortgage holders are ‘At Risk’ – an increase of 3.2% points. Overall, 17.1% of mortgage holders are ‘Extremely At Risk’, and this will increase by 2.4% points to 19.5% if the Reserve Bank increases interest rates in March (947,000 mortgage holders).

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Super fund satisfaction rises to new record highs driven by record highs for Retail Funds and Industry Funds

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Feb-26

New data from Roy Morgan’s Superannuation Satisfaction Report shows an overall super fund satisfaction with financial performance rating of 78.8% in December 2025. This is an increase of 10.4% points from a year ago and up 13.8% points from the post-pandemic low of 65.0% in July 2023. Superannuation satisfaction is now 19.2% points above the long-term average of 59.6% since 2007. There has been significant improvement across all four categories of super funds over the last year; the largest increase is for Retail Funds, with customer satisfaction up 10.5% points to a new record high of 75.6%. Customer satisfaction for Industry Funds has risen by 9.6% points to 78.9% in the last year, which is also a record high. Customer satisfaction with Public Sector Funds is up 9.8% points to 83.6%, and now clearly the highest of any of the four categories, while customer satisfaction with Self-Managed Funds is up 3.1% points to 80.4%. 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.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

AI leads Australian start-ups’ $5b funding boom

Original article by Tess Bennett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 3-Feb-26

Funding for Australian technology start-ups increased by $1 billion to $5.1 billion last year, according to the State of Australian Start-up Funding report. Investments linked to artificial intelligence dominated funding, with 61 per cent going to start-ups using AI in their product offerings, while the 20 biggest deals accounted for 58 per cent of the total capital deployed. Commenting on the 2025 figures, Airtree Ventures partner James Cameron said VC sentiment was "buoyant" again after a subdued couple of years, while diversity among funded start-ups still remains a major issue; all-female founding teams received just two per cent of total capital invested in 2025

CORPORATES
AIRTREE VENTURES PTY LTD

Big deals put bourse at risk of shrinking

Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 29-Jan-26

MST analyst Hasan Tevfik says that several big merger proposals mean that the Australian sharemarket is risk of ‘de-equitising’ in 2026 . This occurs when the value of shares removed from the market via buybacks, takeovers and de-listings exceeds new capital raised by listed companies and via IPOs; this has not happened since 2005, when News Corporation moved its primary listing from the ASX to New York. BlueScope Steel and Qube Holdings are among the companies that are currently the subject of takeover bids, while Tevfik notes that the ASX’s equitisation would take a big hit if Rio Tinto acquires Glencore and opts to scrap its dual listing in Australia.

CORPORATES
MST MARQUEEBLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSLQUBE HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX QUBRIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIOGLENCORE PLC

Risk of mortgage stress drops to lowest for three years, but rising inflation poses a risk of interest rates heading up in 2026

Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 29-Jan-26

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 24.5% of mortgage holders were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to December 2025, down 3.4% points from August. This is the lowest proportion of mortgage holders ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ since January 2023. The number of Australians ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 380,000 since May 2022, when the Reserve Bank of Australia began a cycle of interest rate increases. Meanwhile, the number of Australians considered to be ‘Extremely At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now numbered at 830,000 (17.1% of mortgage holders); this is just above the long-term average over the last two decades of 16.3%. 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.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITEDRESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Big four banks cash in on zero interest

Original article by Max Aitchison
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 21-Jan-26

Analysis by Jarden shows that customers of Australia’s four major banks hold a combined $320bn in transaction and business accounts that do not pay any interest. This equates to about 10 per cent of each of the four major banks’ total deposits, and nearly 20 per cent of the estimated $1.7trn in deposits held by all of the nation’s lenders. Jarden’s analysis also shows that the four big banks’ implied earnings from zero-interest accounts have risen sharply in recent years. Matt Wilson from Jarden says the major banks have benefited from customer loyalty and inertia in recent years; he adds that this may change in 2026, and customers may begin seeking better deals for their bank deposits.

CORPORATES
JARDEN GROUP LIMITED

Super funds manage 9 per cent lift over 2025

Original article by James Kirby
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 21-Jan-26

Data from Chant West suggests that the average superannuation fund posted a return of about 9.3 per cent in calendar 2025; SuperRatings in turn estimates that the average return was about 8.8 per cent. This follows double-digit returns in 2024, although super funds have achieved an average return of less than seven per cent over the long-term. Mano Mohankumar from Chant West emphasises the need for super fund members to focus on long-term returns rather than the calendar year performance.

CORPORATES
CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, SUPERRATINGS PTY LTD

Big four banks slammed over deposit deception for savings

Original article by Max Aitchison
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 20-Jan-26

Research published in 2023 showed that two-thirds of customers at Australia’s four major banks are not earning the maxium interest rate on savings accounts that offer bonus rates. Data released by National Australia in response to a written request from Liberal MP Aaron Violi shows that this situation has not changed since then; NAB revealed that only 34 per cent of customers with a Reward Saver account earned the advertised bonus interest rate of 4.15 per cent in the last six months. Violi has called for an end to this ‘deposit deception’ and contends that all banks should be more transparent and remove hurdles to ensure that the majority of customers with such accounts can earn the maximum bonus interest rate.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

BHP closes in on CBA’s crown as ASX king

Original article by Cecile Lefort
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 13-Jan-26

Shares in BHP have risen by 30 per cent in the last six months, lifting its market capitalisation to $236bn. The resources giant is now just 8.5 per cent shy of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s market cap of $258bn, and a continued strong run could see it reclaim the title of the ASX’s biggest company. CBA’s shares peaked at $192 in mid-2025; Peter Gardner from Plato Investment Management believes that CBA is still a bit overvalued at its current price of about $154 per share. Meanwhile, BHP has been buoyed by strong commodity prices, which has prompted investors to rebalance their portfolios in favour of mining companies rather than banks.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, PLATO INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LIMITED