K: Financial and Insurance Services

Westpac to stick with dividend lift

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 & 30 : 15-Oct-15

Westpac’s unaudited preliminary financial accounts for 2014-15 show that it has posted a full-year cash profit of $A7.82bn, which is three per cent higher than previously. Investors will receive a fully franked final dividend of $A0.94 per share, compared with $A0.92 in 2013-14, while Westpac also intends to pay a higher dividend in 2015-16. Westpac shares have been placed in a trading halt until 19 October 2015 due to the group’s $A3.5bn capital raising.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Cross-border M&A to climb, law firm says

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 15-Oct-15

A Baker & McKenzie report shows that the value of cross-border mergers and acquisitions rose by 10 per cent to US375bn ($A518bn) in the September 2015 quarter. However, the number of transactions fell by 16 per cent year-on-year. Baker & McKenzie partner David Holland expects an increase in the proportion of M&A deals that are cross-border transactions. Meanwhile, data from Dealogic shows that some $US88.9bn worth of M&A deals involving Australian companies have been announced so far in 2015.

CORPORATES
BAKER AND McKENZIE, DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, TOLL HOLDINGS LIMITED, ASCIANO LIMITED – ASX AIO, VEDA GROUP LIMITED – ASX VED, DELL COMPUTER CORPORATION, EMC CORPORATION, ANHEUSER-BUSCH INBEV SA/NV, SABMILLER PLC, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, MYOB GROUP LIMITED – ASX MYO, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence Climbs Higher to 115.6

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 13-Oct-15

The ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rose by 5.1 per cent to 115.6 in the week ended 11 October 2015, more than reversing the falls of the previous two weeks. This is the second highest reading in more than a year, and leaves consumer confidence 2.6 per cent above its long-run average. The rise in consumer confidence was broad-based. The sub-index "economic conditions in the next five years" rose by 10 per cent, while "personal finances in the next 12 months" was up 6.6 per cent.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Call for tighter controls on payday lenders

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 13-Oct-15

The Australian Centre for Financial Studies has proposed to set up a national database of payday loans. It also argues that payday lenders should be more discriminating in assessing borrowers and their capacity to service a loan. The market for payday loans was estimated to be worth between $A800 million and $1A billion in 2012.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CENTRE FOR FINANCIAL STUDIES, RMIT UNIVERSITY, MONEY3 CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX MNY, CASH CONVERTERS INTERNATIONAL – ASX CCV, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, CASH CONVERTERS INTERNATIONAL – ASX CCV, GOOD SHEPHERD MICROFINANCE, EQUIPSUPER PTY LTD, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

ANZ signals push into NSW home lending

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 11 : 12-Oct-15

Increasing its share of the home loan market in New South Wales will be a priority for the ANZ Bank under new CEO Shayne Elliott, who will succeed Mike Smith in early 2016. Elliott also says the growing shift to the use of mobile devices for banking represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the banking sector in terms of engaging with customers. Meanwhile, ANZ chairman David Gonski says the group will review its Asian strategy under Elliott.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, PT PANIN BANK, AMBANK BERHAD, BANK OF TIANJIN COMPANY LIMITED, SHANGHAI RURAL COMMERCIAL BANK, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, ESANDA FINANCE CORPORATION LIMITED

Australian Roy Morgan Business Confidence boosted in September with change of PM but remains below average

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Oct-15

A Roy Morgan Business Single Source survey has found that Australian business confidence rose by 9.9 per cent to 112.8 in September 2015. This improvement in confidence for Australia’s economic outlook was generally expected as a result of the change in Prime Minister. However, business confidence still remains below the five-year average (116.8) and the level of 12 months ago (122.9). The increase in Roy Morgan Business Confidence in September was a result of improvements across all components of the index. The strongest gains were in how businesses feel about the economy over the next 12 months and the next five years, and the encouragement this would give them to invest in their business.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Big banks grab third of $30b in super fees

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 12-Oct-15

Research undertaken by Rainmaker on behalf of Industry Super Australia shows that Australia’s four major banks received about 33 per cent of the $A30bn paid in superannuation fees in 2014-15. Retail super funds and not-for-profit super funds accounted for about 50 per cent and 25 per cent of fees respectively. ISA CEO David Whiteley has expressed concern about the level of transparency in the super industry.

CORPORATES
INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RAINMAKER INFORMATION SERVICES PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Macquarie bulks up with Esanda

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis, Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 9-Oct-15

Macquarie Group will become one of Australia’s three largest vehicle financiers after paying $A8.2bn for the Esanda Dealer Finance business. The sale of Esanda will boost the ANZ Bank’s common equity tier one capital ratio. Macquarie will partially finance the acquisition via a capital raising, with plans to tap institutional investors for $A400m via a share placement. Macquarie shares traded at $A77.84 on 8 October 2015, prior to a trading halt.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, ESANDA FINANCE CORPORATION LIMITED, AWAS AVIATION CAPITAL LIMITED, CROWN CASTLE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, APACHE ENERGY LIMITED, THAMES WATER UTILITIES LIMITED, MOTO, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, BANK OF AMERICA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MERRILL LYNCH (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, CADENCE CAPITAL LIMITED – ASX CDT, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, HNA GROUP, NOMURA AUSTRALIA LIMITED, PEPPER GROUP LIMITED – ASX PEP

BoQ chief glimpses a sunnier state for bank

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 9-Oct-15

Bank of Queensland has posted 2014-15 cash earnings of $A$357m, which is 19 per cent higher than previously. Revenue was 17 per cent higher at $A1.08bn, while its home loan book increase by nine per cent to $A25.6bn. The value of all loans rose by seven per cent to $A40.9bn in total. CEO Jon Sutton is upbeat about the regional bank’s earnings outlook, noting that it should benefit from factors such as new capital requirements for its larger peers.

CORPORATES
BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CONTANGO ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED, WATERMARK FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, VIRGIN MONEY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Richest families make second fortunes

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Original article by John Stensholt
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 8-Oct-15

The Smorgon family has topped the 2015 "BRW Rich Families List", with estimated wealth of $A2.74bn. The combined fortunes of the 50 families on the 2015 list is $A41.18bn, compared with $A40.1bn in 2014. Many families on the list are expanding into the property development sector, after making their fortunes in other industries.

CORPORATES
BAIADA POULTRY PTY LTD, STEGGLES HOLDINGS LIMITED, LILYDALE, SWISSE WELLNESS PTY LTD, BIOSTIME INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED, INTRAPAC PROJECTS PTY LTD, LEWIS LAND CORPORATION LIMITED, HARD YAKKA, BEST AND LESS PTY LTD, BANNA PROPERTY PTY LTD