K: Financial and Insurance Services

Hartzer to slim down a higher-tech Westpac

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Original article by Clancy Yeates, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 8-Sep-15

Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer has ruled out large-scale branch closures, although he has conceded that some branches are likely to be closed as the shift toward online banking gains momentum. Hartzer has also flagged plans to increase the banking major’s investment in technology, as part of a strategy to boost overall investment by 20 per cent. Westpac will also seek to ensure that its return on equity remains above 15 per cent.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, BANK OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Private equity to debate scarcity of assets as deals dry up

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 7-Sep-15

A dearth of quality assets contributed to a decline in the Australian private equity industry’s share of mergers and acquisitions activity in 2014-15. Australian Private Equity & Venture Capital Association figures show that the sector’s share of such deals fell to around four per cent in dollar terms during 2014-15, compared with an average of 7-10 per cent in the previous four years. Experts forecast that private equity groups will increasingly make deals in partnership with superannuation funds.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRIVATE EQUITY AND VENTURE CAPITAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED MINTER ELLISON ROC PARTNERS PTY LTD THE BLACKSTONE GROUP LP ORICA LIMITED – ASX ORI KKR AND COMPANY LP KOHLBERG KRAVIS ROBERTS AND COMPANY VARDE PARTNERS INCORPORATED DEUTSCHE BANK AG GE CAPITAL AUSTRALIA BRADKEN LIMITED – ASX BKN CHAMP VENTURES PTY LTD QUADRANT PRIVATE EQUITY PTY LTD

Insurers’ share prospects bleak

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Original article by Ruth Liew
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 7-Sep-15

Shares in QBE Insurance Group have risen by 13.6 per cent so far in 2015, while Insurance Australia Group has shed 20.6 per cent and Suncorp Group is down 10.2 per cent. Credit Suisse has warned that the outlook for Australian insurers is challenging, noting that the August 2015 reporting season was generally disappointing for the sector. Insurers are also facing growing competition from online rivals such as Youi and Budget Direct.

CORPORATES
QBE INSURANCE GROUP LIMITED – ASX QBE INSURANCE AUSTRALIA GROUP LIMITED – ASX IAG SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED YOUI PTY LTD BUDGET DIRECT INSURANCE AGENCY PTY LTD REAL INSURANCE CITIGROUP PTY LTD UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA MEDIBANK PRIVATE LIMITED – ASX MPL

Smaller banks continue to lead in customer satisfaction

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Sep-15

Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey has revealed that the satisfaction level of the big four banks’ personal banking customers in the six months to July 2015 was 81.3 per cent, which was up 0.8 percentage points from July 2014 (80.5 per cent). Despite this improvement, the banks other than the big four still have a clear lead with 86.0 per cent satisfaction in July 2015, which was up 0.5 percentage points from July 2014 (85.5 per cent). Among the big four banks, CBA narrowly regained top position from the NAB for overall satisfaction with 82.3 per cent (NAB 82.2 per cent). Among smaller banks, Teachers Mutual Bank remained the best performing bank overall with 95.1 per cent of its customers satisfied. It is worth noting that Bank of Melbourne (90.3 per cent satisfaction) and St George (84.5 per cent) were both clearly ahead of Westpac (80.1 per cent).

CORPORATES
MORGAN POLL, ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, TEACHERS MUTUAL BANK LIMITED, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED

Death puts big chill on philanthropy

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Original article by Mike Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 4-Sep-15

Research by fund manager Perpetual has found that Australians enthusiastically support charity when they are alive but rarely leave anything to charity in their wills. Only 7.5 per cent left anything to charity, compared with 89 per cent who gave while alive. This disconnect is being explored by financial advisers and lawyers ahead of Include a Charity Week, which starts on 6 September 2015.

CORPORATES
PERPETUAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, WALTER AND ELIZA HALL INSTITUTE OF MEDICAL RESEARCH

Investor rate rises prompt owner-occupiers to switch

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 3-Sep-15

A growing number of home loan customers are alerting banks they have changed their status from investor to owner-occupier. While they had no incentive to do so before, banks are now charging investors higher interest rates for the first time since the 1990s. The industry says the trend may involve thousands of customers, complicating the compilation of official statistics.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, YELLOW BRICK ROAD HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX YBR, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Global investors want Australian assets: HSBC

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Original article by Larry Schlesinger
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 45 : 3-Sep-15

US, Canadian and European pension funds are seeking Australian commercial property because the long-term demographics look good, according to HSBC’s global head of corporate real estate, Andy Armstrong. Visiting from London, Armstrong says strong population growth, urban infrastructure renewal and a business-friendly environment make Australia a stand-out economy for real estate investment.

CORPORATES
HSBC BANK PLC, ERNST AND YOUNG, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MACQUARIE BANK LIMITED – ASX MBL, HSBC BANK AUSTRALIA LIMITED

ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Consolidates

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 2-Sep-15

ANZ-Roy Morgan Consumer Confidence rating for Australia rose by 0.3 per cent to 113.3 in the week ended 30 August 2015. This is the third consecutive week where confidence has remained above its long term average. Views on "economic conditions in the next five years" were up 1.8 per cent when compared with the previous week. The outlook for "economic conditions in the next year" fell 4.9 per cent, declining to the lowest level in eight weeks. Consumers’ views of their "financial situation in the next year" rose 3.9 per cent when compared with the previous week.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

ASX sheds $32b as China fears deepen

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Original article by Vanessa Desloires
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 2-Sep-15

The S&P/ASX 200 index fell 2.1 per cent or 110.6 points to 5,096.4 on 1 September 2015. The market lost $A32 billion in capitalisation. Investor sentiment was negatively affected by a fall in China’s official purchasing manager’s index, from 50 in July 2015 to 49.7 in August. BHP Billiton declined 2.1 per cent to $A24.65 and Rio Tinto fell 1.8 per cent to $A49.37.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, BHP BILLITON LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL, AGL ENERGY LIMITED – ASX AGL, SYDNEY AIRPORT – ASX SYD, QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Landmark case could cost Visa $20m in fines

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 2-Sep-15

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has reached a confidential settlement with Visa. The company was accused of abusing its market power. The settlement will be considered for approval by Federal Court judge Michael Wigney on 3 September 2015. Penalties of up to $A20 million are believed to be sought by the ACCC.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, VISA INTERNATIONAL, FEXCO INVESTMENTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, PURE COMMERCE PTY LTD, GLOBAL BLUE HOLDINGS AB, PLANET PAYMENTS, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL