K: Financial and Insurance Services

Commonwealth Bank fined a record $3.55m for breaching spam laws with millions of emails

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Original article by Josh Taylor
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 7-Jun-23

The Australian Communications & Media Authority has ordered the nation’s biggest bank to pay a record penalty for breaching the Spam Act. The Commonwealth Bank has been fined $3.55m for sending 65 million unsolicited emails to customers; the bulk of them required customers to log in to their account in order to unsubscribe, which is prohibited under the legislation that took effect in 2021. The bank has also agreed to a three-year court-enforceable undertaking to independently review its online marketing practices and staff training.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA AUTHORITY

Mortgage stress increases to its highest since August 2008 with 27.8% of mortgage holders now At Risk

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 6-Jun-23

New research from Roy Morgan shows that an estimated 1.38 million mortgage holders (27.8%) were ‘At Risk’ of ‘mortgage stress’ in the three months to April 2023. This period encompassed two interest rate increases of 0.25%, taking official interest rates to 3.6% in April. This is the highest number of mortgage holders considered ‘At Risk’ since August 2008, when more than 1.4 million were ‘At Risk’. The proportion of mortgage holders considered ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress is now the highest since October 2011 (28.3%). The number of Australians who are ‘At Risk’ of mortgage stress has increased by 529,000 over the last year. However, despite the sharp increase in the level of mortgage stress during the last year the overall number remains below the high reached during the Global Financial Crisis in early 2009 of 35.6% (1,455,000 mortgage holders). Meanwhile, the number of mortgage holders considered to be ‘Extremely At Risk’ has increased to 881,000 (18.5%), which is significantly above the long-term average over the last 15 years of 661,000 (15.9%). 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

The ASX shrinking for the first time in 18 years

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Original article by Alex Gluyas, James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 24 : 6-Jun-23

MST Marquee estimates that the Australian sharemarket’s total capitalisation will fall by about $43bn by the end of 2023, due to the current wave of mergers and acquisitions activity. This will be the first time the local bourse has de-equitised since 2005, when News Corp moved its primary listing to the US. The de-equitisation trend is particularly strong in the resources sector, although Hasan Tevfik from MST Marquee notes that this is also boosting the valuations of resources groups; he adds that rising valuations may prompt more companies to pursue an IPO.

CORPORATES
MST MARQUEE

Pandemic sees influx of investors

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Original article by Lucy Dean
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 33 : 31-May-23

The ASX’s latest investor survey shows that 51 per cent of Australian adults now hold investments outside of superannuation or the family home. This compares with 46 per cent in early 2020, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. The report shows that more than 1.2 million Australians have started to invest in shares since the pandemic began; the ASX’s Rory Cunningham says women account for 50 per cent of the new investors, and 50 per cent of people who intend to invest. However, Irene Guiamatsia from Investment Trends notes that the overall proportion of investors who are women has remained steady at 42 per cent since 2020; she says this is primarily because women tend to have lower income than men.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, INVESTMENT TRENDS PTY LTD

Dividends fall behind global peers as mining payouts slump

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 25-May-23

Data from global asset manager Janus Henderson shows that Australian-listed companies paid $27.9bn worth of dividends in the March quarter, which is 6.6 per cent lower than previously. In contrast, global dividend payouts rose by 12 per cent to a record high of $US326.7bn in the first three months of 2023. This result was boosted by US28.8bn worth of special dividends, the highest amount in nine years. Ben Lofthouse of Janus Henderson notes that the Australian sharemarket’s heavy weighting towards mining and bank stocks affects dividend payouts across the bourse.

CORPORATES
JANUS HENDERSON GROUP PLC – ASX JHG

Strong super gains tipped for 2023

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Original article by Louise Brannelly
The Australian – Page: 17 : 24-May-23

Data from Chant West shows that the median growth superannuation fund posted a return of f 1.2 per cent in April and 8.1 per cent for the first 10 months of 2022-23. Mano Mohankumar of Chant West shows that returns have been flat so far in May, but growth funds are still on track to achieve a full-year return of around eight per cent. This compares with a loss of 3.3 per cent in 2021-22. SuperRatings’ executive director Kirby Rappell is also upbeat about the sector’s performance in 2022-23.

CORPORATES
CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, SUPERRATINGS PTY LTD

New Zealanders are increasingly worried about interest rates as RBNZ raises rates to 14-year highs

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 17-May-23

The latest Roy Morgan research into the attitudes of New Zealanders towards the level of interest rates shows that the Reserve Bank of NZ’s record 11 rate rises in 18 months are clearly having an impact. Some 54.1% of New Zealanders were worried about interest rates in the year to December 2022, compared with just 34.6% in the year to June 2021. The rapid series of interest rate increases since late 2021 is hitting New Zealanders with a mortgage harder than anyone else; 63.3% of New Zealanders who are paying off their home loan say they are ‘worried about interest rates at the moment’, up from 23.1% in June 2021. Concern about interest rates has increased for renters and home owners as well, but at a much lower rate. Now around half of renters (50.1%) and home owners (49.2%) say they are worried about interest rates.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Super funds post 1.1pc return amid volatility

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Original article by Paulina Duran
The Australian – Page: 15 : 21-Apr-23

Data from Chant West shows that the median growth superannuation fund gained 1.1 per cent in March, and 6.9 per cent in the first nine months of 2022-23. The S&P/ASX 200 shed 0.2 per cent in March, but this was offset by strong returns from international shares, as well as Australian and international bonds. Mano Mohankumar of Chant West notes that the median growth fund has gained 29 per cent since the financial market meltdown in March 2020, at the onset of the global pandemic.

CORPORATES
CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD

Twin RBA rate rises may be on horizon

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 19-Apr-23

Morgan Stanley believes that the strength of the domestic economy means that the Reserve Bank of Australia may increase the cash rate by 25 basis points in both August and September. Shares in retail and property-related stocks have risen in recent weeks amid speculation that the RBA’s monetary policy tightening cycle may have ended following the pause in April. However, Morgan Stanley cautions that the rebound may be premature, given that inflation remains high and the official unemployment rate is steady at 3.5 per cent.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Apple Pay set to overtake Afterpay in usage in 2023

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Apr-23

The latest Roy Morgan Digital Payments Report shows that Afterpay is now used by over 3.3 million Australians (15.6% of the population). It is just ahead of Apple Pay, which is now used by over 3.2 million Australians (15.2%). However, current trends show that Apple Pay is poised to overtake Afterpay in the next few months. Apple Pay has increased its usage in the local market significantly from a year ago, up from 11.1% of Australians in February 2022, an increase of 4.1% points in a year. In contrast, usage of Afterpay has increased from 14.1% of Australians a year ago to 15.6%, an increase of just 1.5% points in a year. These new digital payment findings are from Roy Morgan Single Source, Australia’s leading consumer survey, derived from in-depth interviews with around 60,000 Australians annually.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AFTERPAY LIMITED, APPLE PAY