K: Financial and Insurance Services

Crisis as bank branches closed

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 15 : 21-Sep-22

The Finance Sector Union has urged the federal government to hold an inquiry into the impact of bank branch closures on customers and communities. The FSU’s national secretary Julia Angrisano says the union has been particularly concerned about the closure of branches in regional areas. BankWest has advised that it will close 14 branches in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia, while 29 branches in regional areas in Western Australia will have reduced trading hours. Angrisano has accused BankWest’s parent the Commonwealth Bank of putting "profits before people".

CORPORATES
FINANCE SECTOR UNION, BANKWEST, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Unprofitable firms worth $60b on ASX

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 21-Sep-22

Research from MST Marquee shows that 50 companies in the S&P/ASX 300 are unprofitable, up from 48 prior to the index’s latest quarterly rebalance. Hasan Tevfik of MST notes that investors continue to back unprofitable companies despite their poor performance, noting that these companies have a combined market capitalisation of about $60bn. He says the continued support for profitless companies may be due to investors’ hopes that they will deliver strong returns, as they did in 2009 and the first year of the pandemic.

CORPORATES
MST MARQUEE, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 300 INDEX

BHP’s monster dividend to lead a record week of returns

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 33 : 20-Sep-22

Australian investor will receive more than $18bn worth of dividend payments in coming days. Bell Potter strategist Richard Coppleson says BHP’s $12.5bn final dividend will be the biggest payout on record by an Australian-listed company. Rio Tinto’s local shareholders will in turn receive some $1.4bn worth of dividends. Telstra and Santos are among the other companies that will pay their dividends in coming days, while Fortescue Metals Group will pay $3.7bn worth of dividends next week. Listed companies will pay out a total of $33.5bn in dividends during September, and a further $9.6bn in October.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP,{SPAC}BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED,{SPAC}RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO,{SPAC}TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS,{SPAC}SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO,{SPAC}FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

BHP’s monster dividend to lead a record week of returns

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 33 : 20-Sep-22

Australian investor will receive more than $18bn worth of dividend payments in coming days. Bell Potter strategist Richard Coppleson says BHP’s $12.5bn final dividend will be the biggest payout on record by an Australian-listed company. Rio Tinto’s local shareholders will in turn receive some $1.4bn worth of dividends. Telstra and Santos are among the other companies that will pay their dividends in coming days, while Fortescue Metals Group will pay $3.7bn worth of dividends next week. Listed companies will pay out a total of $33.5bn in dividends during September, and a further $9.6bn in October.

CORPORATES
BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP,{SPAC}BELL POTTER SECURITIES LIMITED,{SPAC}RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO,{SPAC}TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS,{SPAC}SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO,{SPAC}FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG

One in seven buy now, pay later customers had more than 20 loans last year, Choice survey shows

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 16-Sep-22

New data highlights the growing use of ‘buy now, pay later’ services in Australia and the need for greater regulation of the sector. Consumer group Choice has found that 14 per cent of consumers are using BNPL services to pay their energy bills, while one in six are using them to buy groceries. Patrick Veyret of Choice says it is shocking that Australians are being forced to use these services to pay for essentials. He notes that some people are taking out loans with up to 10 different BNPL providers. The sector will be subject to the same regulation as credit providers under reforms that have been flagged by the federal government.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN CONSUMERS’ ASSOCIATION

Westpac closures take branch losses to 225 since last January

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Original article by Ayesha de Kretser
The Australian Financial Review – Page: Online : 16-Sep-22

Westpac’s latest round of branch closures has been criticised by the Finance Sector Union, with national secretary Julia Angrisano also describing the bank as "mean and stingy" with regard to pay negotiations. Westpac will close another 24 branches across Australia, with the loss of 103 jobs; it previously closed 24 branches in both July and August, and a total of 225 branches have now been closed since the start of 2021. The Commonwealth Bank in turn will close three branches in NSW and South Australia.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, FINANCE SECTOR UNION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Super contributions surge past $63bn

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 14 : 24-Aug-22

Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that net contributions to superannuation funds increased by 88 per cent in 2021-22. Net contributions exceeded $63bn, with inflows of $146.5bn being partially offset by some $85.8bn worth of benefits being paid out to members. Employer contributions rose by 10.2 per cent to $108.6bn, with the super guarantee rising by 0.5 per cent to 9.5 per cent on 1 July 2021. Personal contributions increased by about 32.7 per cent, to $35.3bn. The total value of super funds’ assets fell from $3.38trn to $3.31trn during the financial year.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Suncorp puts bank into play

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Original article by Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 27-Jun-22

Suncorp Group may abandon its ‘bancassurance’ model and pursue a sale or demerger of its banking division. Suncorp has engaged the services of investment bank Barrenjoey Capital Partners to consider options for its banking arm, which would allow the listed group to focus on its insurance division. Analysts have suggested that the recent downturn in Australian bank stocks could make selling Suncorp Bank more attractive than listing it on the sharemarket. Suncorp’s own share have fallen by one per cent over the last year, while the S&P/ASX 200 has shed 10 per cent.

CORPORATES
SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, SUNCORP BANK, BARRENJOEY CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX

‘Weaker housing’: Morgan Stanley slashes banks’ valuations

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Original article by Emma Rapaport
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 26 : 22-Jun-22

Morgan Stanley analysts have warned that a recession in Australia and New Zealand is becoming more likely. Factors such as the worsening economic outlook and rising interest rates have prompted Morgan Stanley to downgrade its valuations for Australia’s four major banks, given their exposure to the housing market. The share prices of the ‘big four’ banks have fallen sharply since the Reserve Bank increased the cash rate by a higher-than-expected 50 basis points in June, while another rate rise is likely in July.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Lowe prompts double jump in rate forecasts

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 16-Jun-22

Financial markets have now fully priced in a 50 basis point increase in the cash rate at the Reserve Bank of Australia’s monthly board meeting in July. Financial markets also expect official interests to rise to four per cent by early 2023, compared with just 0.85 per cent at present. Investment bank Goldman Sachs expects the cash rate to rise by 50 basis points in July and the following two months; it had anticipated 25 basis point rate rises in August and September prior to recent comments by RBA governor Philip Lowe regarding the outlook for inflation and interest rates.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LTD