K: Financial and Insurance Services

Banks demand buy now, pay later details for home loans

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 23-Dec-22

ING and Macquarie Bank have told mortgage brokers that they are now including buy now, pay later debts when assessing a person’s ability to repay a mortgage or other type of loan. ING has also advised brokers that outstanding Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS) or Higher Education Loan Program (HELP) debt amounts need to be included in the loan serviceability assessment, while it is to increase the minimum required deposit from five per cent to 10 per cent to line up with its align with its lenders’ mortgage insurer’s policy on "high-risk postcodes".

CORPORATES
ING AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS LIMITED, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL

Bankman-Fried arrested in The Bahamas

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Original article by Jessica Sier
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 18 : 14-Dec-22

The US government is expected to seek an extradition order for the founder of collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX. Sam Bankman-Fried has been taken into custody in The Bahamas, where FTX was based for tax purposes. Bahamas Attorney-General Ryan Pinder says his nation and the US have a shared interest in holding accountable all individuals associated with the collapse of FTX. Media reports have indicated that Bankman-Fried will face a range of criminal charges in the US, including wire fraud, securities fraud and money laundering; the US Securities & Exchange Commission will also pursue charges against him. Pinder says The Bahamas will undertake its own regulatory and criminal investigations into the collapse of FTX.

CORPORATES
FTX, UNITED STATES. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Inflation tipped to rise to highest level in 32 years

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Original article by Emma Rapaport
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 29-Nov-22

The latest monthly inflation data will be released on Wednesday. Catherine Birch from the ANZ Bank expects the data to show that the headline inflation rate rose from 7.3 per cent in September to 7.8 per cent in October. Birch also forecasts that the Reserve Bank’s preferred measure of trimmed mean inflation will rise from 5.4 per cent to 5.9 per cent. The ANZ expects the quarterly headline inflation rate to peak at eight per cent in the final three months of 2022 and remain above the central bank’s target range of 2-3 per cent until the end of 2024. It also anticipates that the Reserve Bank will begin to ease monetary policy in November 2024.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

NZ Reserve Bank nails our RBA’s failure

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Original article by Terry McCrann
Herald Sun – Page: 49 : 24-Nov-22

Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has stated that wage outcomes must be consistent with the return of inflation to the central bank’s target range of 2-3 per cent. Increasing wages in line with the inflation rate would inevitably result in large-scale job losses and further boost inflation. Allowing inflation to remain well above the target range for too long would also heighten the risk of a wage-price spiral. The Reserve Bank of New Zealand recognises these risks; its cash rate was increased by 75 basis points on Wednesday, and it seriously considered a one per cent increase. In contrast, the RBA increased the cash rate by just 25 basis points in November, despite the inflation rate in both countries being nearly identical. NZ’s cash rate is now 4.25 per cent, but Australia’s cash rate will still be just 3.1 per cent if – as expected – the RBA announces a 25 basis point increase in December.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND

Economic turmoil to weigh on M&A: Goldman

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 15 : 14-Nov-22

Mark Sorrell of investment bank Goldman Sachs believes that global merger and acquisition activity will remain subdued until at least 2024. He notes that until recently, there had been widespread expectations that sentiment toward M&A deals would improve in the second half of 2023, but factors such as geopolitical tensions and aggressive interest rate increases have pushed back the likely time-frame for any rebound. Data from Refinitiv shows that there has been a 60 per cent decline in announced deals involving Australian companies in 2022, compared with the same time in 2021.

CORPORATES
THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, REFINITIV AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Economists tip supersized Cup day rate rise

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Original article by Ronald Mizen
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 11 : 28-Oct-22

Westpac’s chief economist Bill Evans expects the Reserve Bank of Australia to increase the cash rate by 50 basis points in November, in response to the latest inflation data. Westpac now anticipates that official interest rates will peak at 3.85 per cent, a view shared by the Commonwealth Bank. National Australia Bank and ANZ in turn expect interest rates to peak at 3.6 per cent and 3.1 per cent respectively. Meanwhile, financial markets have priced in a 25 basis point increase in November.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Superannuation fund returns go negative in September as markets weaken

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Original article by Rod Myer
The New Daily – Page: Online : 18-Oct-22

Data from SuperRatings shows that the average balanced superannuation fund lost 3.1 per cent in value during September and 5.7 per cent in the year to September. Factors such as rising inflation and interest rates have weighed on super returns in 2022. SuperRatings’ executive director Kirby Rappell anticipates a challenging calendar year for returns in the sector. However, Rappell emphasises that super is a long-term investment, and he notes that balanced funds have returned an average of at least seven per cent over time.

CORPORATES
SUPERRATINGS PTY LTD

APRA warns on bank cyber risks

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 12-Oct-22

Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chairman Wayne Byres has told a parliamentary committee hearing that a cyber attack on one of the nation’s financial institutions is inevitable. Byres said the sector has invested significantly in protecting their systems from hackers, but it is only a matter of time before a hacker is successful. He added that it is equally important to invest in response capabilities so any breaches are detected quickly and action is taken to limit the damage. S&P Global Ratings recently warned that Australia’s regional banks in particular are vulnerable to data breaches.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS

Homeowners rush to refinance their loans

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Original article by Patrick Commins
The Australian – Page: 4 : 5-Oct-22

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows that a record $19bn worth of home loans were refinanced in August. This is five per cent higher than in July, and 10 per cent higher than a year ago. Owner-occupiers refinanced some $12.8bn worth of home loans, while property investors refinanced $6.1bn worth of loans. The figures also show that new mortgage loan commitments fell 3.4 per cent to $27.4bn in August; there has been a 15 per cent decline in housing loan commitments since the Reserve Bank started increasing the cash rate in May.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS

Super giants split over best interests duty

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Original article by Lucy Dean
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 5-Oct-22

Industry Super Australia has used its submission to the Quality of Advice Review to criticise the proposal to water down the ‘best interests duty’. The new duty to provide ‘good advice’ would apply to financial services providers such as superannuation funds and banks. ISA contends that the good advice obligation will materially change how financial advice is offered and regulated, and will most likely result in lower quality of advice. The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia and the Financial Services Council have expressed support for the proposed changes.

CORPORATES
INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE ASSOCIATION OF SUPERANNUATION FUNDS OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL