K: Financial and Insurance Services

Call to regulate medical devices

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Natasha Robinson
The Australian – Page: 3 : 2-Jan-20

Sheena Jack, the CEO of health insurance company HCF, has called for the creation of an independent regulator of medical devices. Jack says there should be a review of the ‘clinical efficacy’ of items that are on the prostheses list, similar to what is done for items on the pharmaceuticals list. Research conducted by Private Healthcare Australia indicates big price differences between medical devices in Australia and comparable products provided in other countries, while Jack claims public hospitals often have to pay much less for medical devices than private ones.

CORPORATES
THE HOSPITAL CONTRIBUTIONS FUND OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Insurers seek changes to NSW funding

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by James Fernyhough
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 : 2-Jan-20

The Insurance Council of Australia has called for changes to the way that emergency services are funded in New South Wales. ICA spokesman Campbell Fuller claims the ’emergency services levy’, which is imposed on insurance companies, leads to underinsurance and is unfair on policyholders. Victoria had a similar levy, but scrapped it after the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires, replacing it with a broader property tax. NSW passed legislation in 2016 to enact a similar tax, but deferred its implementation not long before it was due to take effect in 2017. Fuller says that decision was "regrettable".

CORPORATES
INSURANCE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

ASIC next in line to be climate cop

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 24-Dec-19

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission will begin to legally enforce a requirement that listed companies must inform their shareholders and customers of any material risks from climate change. ASIC has not yet used this enforcement power under the Corporations Act 2001, but it intends to do so in 2020. Woolworths and Treasury Wine Estates are among the companies that have warned of the potential impact of climate change in their financial reports.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, TREASURY WINE ESTATES LIMITED – ASX TWE, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Economy fear with credit in the doldrums

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by David Rogers, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 17 : 24-Dec-19

Data from the Reserve Bank of Australia shows that lending to businesses and property buyers increased by 0.1 per cent in November and 2.3 per cent in the year to November. This is the lowest rate of growth in private sector credit since April 2010. The figures also show that growth in home loans was 0.2 per cent in November and 2.9 per cent year-on-year, while non-housing credit fell by 0.5 per cent in November and 4.9 per cent year-on-year.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Paid leave for ANZ’s fire volunteers

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Gerard Cockburn
The Australian – Page: 14 : 24-Dec-19

The ANZ Bank has advised that its employees who are volunteer firefighters will be entitled to special paid leave in addition to their standard leave entitlements. ANZ provides its employees with up to five days of paid community service leave each year, and staff who use all of this leave during the current bushfire crisis will be able to access the bank’s special leave policy.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Australia’s economic interests at risk with RBA out of ammunition

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 21-Dec-19

Paul Brennan of Citigroup notes that the Reserve Bank of Australia’s average cumulative interest rate cut in the last four monetary policy easing cycles was three percentage points. With the cash rate already at a record low of 0.75 following three rate cuts since June, experts warn that the RBA has limited ‘firepower’ in the event of an economic downturn. RBA governor Philip Lowe has ruled out negative interest rates; while he is open to quantitative easing, his preference is for fiscal stimulus and structural reform.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Westpac slapped with $9m penalty over poor advice

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Aleks Vickovich
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 20-Dec-19

Westpac has been ordered to pay a total of $9.15m for 22 breaches of the Corporations Act. The bank was found to be liable for the ‘deficient and defective’ financial advice that ex-employee Sudhir Sinha provided in 2013 and 2014. Sinha was deemed to have failed to act in the best interests of his clients by providing financial advice that was inappropriate for their personal circumstances. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has banned Sinha from working in the industry for five years, while it launched legal action against Westpac in 2018.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Banks face stress test on climate

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 20-Dec-19

Australian financial services providers may be required to disclose their exposure to climate risks in their financial statements. It is amongst reforms that are likely to be implemented by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Reserve Bank of Australia, which include subjecting banks and insurance companies to stress-testing with regard to climate change-related risks. The reforms have been proposed by the Network of Central Banks & Supervisors for Greening the Financial System. The RBA has been a member of it since 2018, while APRA has observer status.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NETWORK OF CENTRAL BANKS AND SUPERVISORS FOR GREENING THE FINANCIAL SYSTEM

Bank stalled as ASIC demanded refunds

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 19-Dec-19

Court documents filed by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission show that National Australia Bank’s internal auditors had raised concerns about charging fees for services that were not provided in April 2016. NAB subsequently made a public admission about the practice, but ASIC executive Louise Macaulay told NAB in November 2017 that its customer remediation program was out of step with rival banks. ASIC subsequently rejected a number of proposed models for compensating NAB customers, while the bank continued to charge ongoing fees until February 2019.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Westpac faces class action over scandal

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Aleks Vickovich
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 19 : 19-Dec-19

Law firm Phi Finney McDonald has filed a class action lawsuit against Westpac on behalf of retail and institutional investors. The firm will allege amongst other things that Westpac breached its continuous disclosure obligations by failing to properly inform prospective investors about Austrac’s concerns regarding its compliance with anti-money laundering laws. The class action is open to investors who bought Westpac shares between 16 December 2013 and 19 November 2019.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, PHI FINNEY McDONALD PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, WOODSFORD LITIGATION FUNDING, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, IMF BENTHAM LIMITED – ASX IMF