K: Financial and Insurance Services

Banks face stress test on climate

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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

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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

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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

RBA to wait and see before February rate cut

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 18-Dec-19

Financial markets have priced in a 62 per cent of an official interest rate cut in February, following the release of the federal government’s Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. The minutes from the central bank’s latest board meeting indicate that it will assess the economic outlook before deciding whether to make any change to monetary policy at its first meeting for 2020. The minutes noted that some downside risks to the global economic outlook have receded in recent weeks.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

NAB to face legal pain over fee rort

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 13 & 14 : 18-Dec-19

National Australia Bank’s annual general meeting on 18 December will be overshadowed by allegations that it engaged in unconscionable conduct. The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has filed a statement of claim in which it outlines some 8,700 instances in which NAB is alleged to have charged fees for services that were not provided between December 2013 and February 2019. Amongst other things, ASIC also alleges that NAB failed to issue adequate product disclosure statements. NAB has indicated that it has already paid $37.8m in compensation to customers who were affected by the fee-for-no-service scandal.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Mega super funds to dominate economy

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 13 & 15 : 16-Dec-19

Rice Warner forecasts that Australia’s superannuation industry will have $7trn worth of assets under management by 2034, compared with $2.7trn at present. The firm also expects the sector to eventually be dominated by a handful of ‘megafunds’. Rice Warner forecasts that there will be at least nine super funds with assets exceeding $100bn within five years, and at least 12 funds with more than $200bn worth of assets by 2034. AustralianSuper’s assets are expected to rise from $150bn to $325bn over the next five years.

CORPORATES
RICE WARNER ACTUARIES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, HOST-PLUS, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, QSUPER LIMITED, SUNSUPER PTY LTD, AMP SUPERANNUATION LIMITED, VICSUPER PTY LTD, FIRST STATE SUPER, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, UNISUPER LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, ONEPATH AUSTRALIA LIMITED

ASX creates the Aussie Nasdaq index

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Original article by Paul Smith
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 16 : 16-Dec-19

Stock exchange operator ASX Limited will launch the S&P All Technology Index in February. It will be based on the Nasdaq Composite Index, and will offer an alternative listing option for technology companies whose capitalisation is too small for the US index. The ASX’s Max Cunningham says the new index should raise the profile of smaller technology companies. The existing S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology index covers just 13 stocks.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, STANDARD AND POOR’S FINANCIAL SERVICES LLC, NASDAQ COMPOSITE INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY INDEX, WISETECH GLOBAL LIMITED – ASX WTC, APPEN LIMITED – ASX APX, XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO, COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, AFTERPAY TOUCH GROUP LIMITED – ASX APT, ALTIUM LIMITED – ASX ALU, LINK ADMINISTRATION HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LNK, NITRO SOFTWARE LIMITED – ASX NTO, TYRO PAYMENTS LIMITED – ASX TYR, LATITUDE FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED, RETAIL ZOO PTY LTD, PROPERTYGURU LIMITED

Westpac faces Philippines probe

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 11-Dec-19

Westpac’s money-laundering scandal has deepened, with the allegations regarding payments linked to child exploitation to be investigated by regulators in The Philippines. The nation’s Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has indicated that its Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking is investigation the allegations in partnership with anti-money-laundering agencies in both Australia and The Philippines. The scandal is likely to dominate Westpac’s annual meeting on 12 December.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, PHILIPPINES. DEPT OF JUSTICE, PHILIPPINES. ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING COUNCIL, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE

RBA chief has confidence in consumers

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Original article by David Rogers, James Glynn
The Australian – Page: 23 : 11-Dec-19

George Tharenou of UBS says the Reserve Bank of Australia is likely to reduce the cash rate twice in the first half of 2020, to a record low of 0.25 per cent. He adds that the federal government’s mid-year Budget update is unlikely to include any "material" fiscal stimulus. Meanwhile, RBA governor Philip Lowe concedes that it is taking longer than usual for consumers to spend the extra cash from the three interest rate cuts in 2019 and the federal government’s income tax offset. However, he expects consumer spending to increase.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Westpac open to settlement

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 10-Dec-19

The Federal Court has been told that Westpac and Austrac could potentially finalise a statement of agreed facts with regard to the bank’s breach of anti-money laundering laws by late February. Westpac has also advised that it will not contest the bulk of the 23 million civil charges that it is facing, which could allow the case to be settled quickly. Westpac is also under scrutiny by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, while the bank could face a board spill at its annual meeting.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA