K: Financial and Insurance Services

Our biggest M&A boom: $83b and counting

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Original article by James Thomson
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 35 : 9-Jun-21

Some market watchers believe that Australia’s mergers and acquisitions activity in 2021 could top the record $US134bn worth of deals in 2011. Data from Dealogic shows that some $US64.3bn ($82.8bn) worth of M&A deals have been announced in the year to date, compared with just $US56.9bn for the same period in 2011. The surge in M&A activity is being driven by factors such as strong balance sheets and access to low-cost debt, while the boards of target companies have become more willing to engage with suitors following a rebound in valuations in the wake of the pandemic.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Buyback bonanza for bank investors

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 16 : 7-Jun-21

Richard Wiles of Morgan Stanley estimates that the combined surplus capital of Australia’s four major banks is within the range of $19.5bn to $28bn. He says the banks could potentially return about $15bn to investors via share buybacks over the next year, with the Commonwealth Bank tipped to repurchase $5bn worth of shares when its 2021 financial results are announced. Buybacks of this magnitude would reduce the number of bank shares on issue by 3-5 per cent.

CORPORATES
MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

CBA breaks through $100 for first time

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 13 & 16 : 27-May-21

Shares in the Commonwealth Bank of Australia reached a record intra-day high of $100.20 on 26 May, ending the session at $99.58. CBA’s share price has risen by 12 per cent so far in May, giving it a market capitalisation of $176.7bn. It is now the biggest stock on the local bourse, and the world’s 11th largest bank in terms of market capitalisation. Brett Le Mesurier of Velocity Trade expects CBA shares to trade at around $100 in the near-term, but Dean Fergie of Cyan Investment Management says the stock could rise further.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, VELOCITY TRADE, CYAN INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Banks, miners set for big payout boost

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Original article by William McInnes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 24 : 26-May-21

Jane Shoemake of global asset manager Janus Henderson is upbeat about the outlook for Australian dividend payouts in 2021. She notes that mining companies and the major banks dominated the list of the 10 biggest dividend payers in 2019 and 2020, and investors are set to benefit from high commodity prices and a rebound in dividend payments in the banking sector. Shoemake also expects energy stocks and defensive retailers such as Coles Group and Woolworths to increase their dividends.

CORPORATES
JANUS HENDERSON GROUP PLC – ASX JHG, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW

Super fund satisfaction soars to a new record high as Australia recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-May-21

New data from Roy Morgan’s Superannuation Satisfaction Report shows an overall super fund satisfaction rating of 71.7% in April 2021 – an increase of 7.0% points from a year ago and up 10.7% points since October 2020. Self-Managed Funds still have the highest customer satisfaction of 81.1%, up 5.8% points from a year ago. Public Sector Funds are in a clear second place with customer satisfaction of 78.9%, up 4.8% points on a year ago. The two largest increases in satisfaction over the last year are for Industry Funds, up 6.8% points to a record high of 71.8% and Retail Funds, up by an impressive 7.2% to a near record high 67.8%. UniSuper has the highest customer satisfaction rating of the Industry Funds, ahead of Cbus, AustralianSuper and Catholic Super. The highest placed Retail Super Fund is OnePath, followed by MLC, Colonial First State and ASGARD. The report’s findings are from Roy Morgan Single Source, Australia’s most trusted consumer survey, compiled by in-depth interviews with over 50,000 Australians each year.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Overall satisfaction with Big 4 banks is higher than a year ago with CBA & NAB the top two

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-May-21

New data from Roy Morgan shows that 80.5% of customers are satisfied with their bank(s) in April 2021, an increase of 1.3% points on a year ago when the COVID-19 pandemic began. The increase was built upon increases in satisfaction for building societies (up 3% points on a year ago), foreign banks (up 2.3% points) and Australia’s ‘Big 4’ banks (up 0.3% points). Satisfaction for the four major banks as a group is 77.1%, up 0.3% points on April 2020, and up 0.2% points on January 2021. The big improver over the last year has been the NAB which has increased its customer satisfaction by 1.9% points to 78.6%, to be just behind the Commonwealth Bank on 78.8% (down 0.2% points). Third is ANZ on 75.0% (up 0.6% points on April 2020), followed by Westpac on 73.5% (down 0.4% points). Among banks as a whole, Beyond Bank scored the highest in April, on 92.7% (up 1.8% points in 12 months). ING was the highest rated foreign bank on 90.6% (up 1.7% points), Newcastle Permanent led the way for building societies on 94.8% (up 3.1% points), while Credit Union Australia was the highest ranked credit union, on 86.9% (up 3.9% points). The findings, taken from Roy Morgan’s Customer Satisfaction report on Consumer Banking in Australia, reflect the successful way the banking sector responded to financial challenges faced by millions of Australians as a result of the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BEYOND BANK AUSTRALIA, ING BANK (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, NEWCASTLE PERMANENT BUILDING SOCIETY LIMITED, CREDIT UNION AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Mergers of super funds to cut costs

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 : 21-May-21

Consolidation in Australia’s superannuation industry has increased in recent years, including the upcoming merger between LGIAsuper and Energy Super. The merged entity will have $22bn worth of assets under management, which will increase to $28bn when it completes a deal to acquire Suncorp’s wealth business. LGIAsuper CEO Kate Farrar believes that smaller funds will continue to have a role in the super industry, although she expects the average size of boutique funds to increase to between $30bn and $50bn.

CORPORATES
LGIASUPER, ENERGY SUPER

Small super funds return a higher level of satisfaction for investors

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Original article by Aleks Vickovich
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 17-May-21

Research by CoreData shows that superannuation funds with assets of less than $20bn outperform their larger peers in terms of customer satisfaction. Smaller funds received an overall score of 63 among members who have retired and a score of 53.2 with regard to preparedness for retirement. In contrast, large super funds received a rating of 57.7 among retirees and just 46.9 among pre-retirees. The survey of more than 4,000 respondents has coincided with a regulatory push for smaller super funds to merge.

CORPORATES
COREDATA PTY LTD

Budget 2021: Stock winners and losers

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 24 : 13-May-21

Macquarie Equities has identified stocks that are likely to benefit from measures in the federal government’s May 2021 Budget. The extension of the instant asset write-off for businesses should boost the sales of companies such as JB Hi-Fi and Wesfarmers, while CSR, CIMIC and Seven Group are among the stocks that should benefit from the government’s move to ramp up infrastructure investment and provide further stimulus for the housing sector. Meanwhile, travel-related stocks were sold down on 12 May after the government signalled that Australia’s international borders will not re-open for some time.

CORPORATES
JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, WESFARMERS LIMITED – ASX WES, CSR LIMITED – ASX CSR, CIMIC GROUP LIMITED – ASX CIM, SEVEN GROUP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX SVW, MACQUARIE EQUITIES LIMITED

Earnings jump sees CBA eye buybacks

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 : 13-May-21

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has posted unaudited cash earnings from continuing operations of $2.4bn for the March quarter, compared with about $1.3bn for the same period in 2020. CBA’s common equity tier one ratio was 12.7 per cent at the end of the quarter, well above the regulatory requirement of 10.5 per cent. CBA has more than $10bn of excess capital, and CEO Matt Comyn says its capital management plans are likely to be a key focus for investors when its full-year earnings are released in August. Brett Le Mesurier of Velocity Trade expects CBA to return up to $12bn to investors in the 2022 and 2023 fiscal years via a share buyback

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, VELOCITY TRADE LIMITED