K: Financial and Insurance Services

Retail super funds face member flight

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 15 : 8-Jul-20

Research by KPMG suggests that nearly 25 per cent of retail superannuation fund members are likely to switch funds during the next year, compared with less than 10 per cent of industry super fund members. KPMG partner Tim Thomas says lower fees of industry funds is a major contributor to the expected exodus of retail fund members. However, he cautions that industry funds risk a similar loss of members if they do not take action to improve the quality of their services. KPMG has also found that nearly 80 per cent of consumers now prefer to interact with financial services providers via digital channels.

CORPORATES
KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Banks to extend loan deferrals

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 8-Jul-20

Australian banks have agreed to extend the deferral of household and business loan repayments by up to four months. The move follows concern about a looming ‘financial cliff’ when the current six-month deferral period ends in September. However, the Australian Banking Association has stressed that customers who have the capacity to resume loan repayments when the initial deferral period ends should do so. It is estimated that nearly 800,000 bank customers have deferred their loan repayments due to the coronavirus pandemic.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION

Funds face more outflows: APRA

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Original article by Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 15 : 7-Jul-20

Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that superannuation fund members have now withdrawn some $18.1bn via the federal government’s early access scheme. APRA expects the new financial year to prompt another surge in applications to withdraw money from super funds. People who have experienced financial hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic can withdraw up to $10,000 from their super fund in both the 2019-20 and 2020-21 financial years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Slim returns among super’s top performers

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 6 : 7-Jul-20

Chant West has forecast that the median superannuation fund will post a return of minus 1.3 per cent for 2019-20. The firm also expects the returns for growths to range from minus six per cent to three per cent. Meanwhile, First State Super is among the super funds that have defied the trend, posting a return of 1.3 per cent for the financial year. Cbus achieved a return of 0.75 per cent, and chief investment officer Kristian Fok says a number of factors contributed to the positive return.

CORPORATES
CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, FIRST STATE SUPER, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND

Capital raising rush far from over

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 1-Jul-20

Data from Refinitiv shows that Australian-listed companies raised $US14.9bn ($21.8bn) via the issuance of new shares in the June quarter, as they sought to boost their balance sheets in response to the coronavirus pandemic. This is the highest quarterly total since late 2010, while some $US18.8bn worth of new shares were issued in the first half of calendar 2020. Fund managers generally expect the capital raisings momentum to be maintained in the second half. Meanwhile, the total value of mergers and acquisitions fell to $US24.9bn in the first half of 2020, compared with $US48.2bn for the first half of 2019.

CORPORATES
REFINITIV AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Greed, fear: ASX wraps worst year since 2012

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Original article by William McInnes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 24 : 1-Jul-20

The Australian sharemarket shed 10.9 per cent during 2019-20, in a turbulent financial year for investors. The local bourse reached a record high in February, before the coronavirus pandemic prompted a savage sell-off. However, a number of stocks performed well during 2019-20, with Afterpay, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare and Mesoblast all gaining more than 100 per cent. Fund managers warn that the August reporting season will be a key test for the sharemarket’s recent rebound.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AFTERPAY LIMITED – ASX APT, FISHER AND PAYKEL HEALTHCARE CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX FPH, MESOBLAST LIMITED – ASX MSB

Cash warns banks to reduce tap and go fees

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 26-Jun-20

The Minister for Small and Family Business, Michaelia Cash, says retailers have complained that banks are not offering to send ‘tap and go’ payments down the cheapest payment network. Previous research has indicated that retailers could be paying up to $550 million in extra transaction fees a year because banks are sending payments through the more expensive networks operated by Visa and Mastercard than via the cheaper Eftpos network. Cash has called on the banks to offer ‘least cost routing’ to retailers, whereby transactions are automatically processed through the network that charges the lowest fee.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF EMPLOYMENT, SKILLS, SMALL AND FAMILY BUSINESS

Banks get a break on customer obligations

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 16 : 26-Jun-20

The Banking Code of Practice, which was approved by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission in December, aims to implement recommendations of the Hayne royal commission. However, ASIC has announced that it has given banks a temporary reprieve from some of the code’s provisions. ASIC has stated that the impact of COVID-19 should be taken into account when considering if a bank has met its commitment to engage ethically and fairly with small business clients; ASIC also noted that banks may not always be able to meet timelines in the code for customer communication.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Media Super poised for $62b Cbus link

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Original article by Joanna Mather, Michael Roddan
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 25-Jun-20

Media Super chairman Gerard Noonan has confirmed that the industry superannuation fund is in the "very early stages" of talks regarding a merger with Cbus. He stresses that Media Super is likely to retain its own branding if the deal proceeds. The fund short-listed Cbus and AustralianSuper as potential merger candidates following a tender process. Media Super has about 75,000 members and some $6bn worth of assets under management. Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that Media Super has lost an average of six per cent of its members annually over the past three years.

CORPORATES
MEDIA SUPER LIMITED, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

APRA probes super fund pain

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Original article by Gerard Cockburn
The Australian – Page: 16 : 25-Jun-20

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority will increase its oversight of the nation’s superannuation funds in response to the coronavirus pandemic. APRA will require super funds to provide it with a range of data on both a monthly and quarterly basis for the duration of the health crisis. Amongst other things, APRA is concerned about the impact of the federal government’s early access scheme is having on super funds, with almost $16bn having been withdrawn to date.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY