K: Financial and Insurance Services

Remediation bill $10bn and counting

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 21 : 20-Nov-19

A parliamentary committee has been told that the total cost of customer remediation programs in the financial services sector has now topped $10bn. However, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s deputy chair Karen Chester said that customers have only been paid $660m in compensation to date. Meanwhile, ASIC chairman James Shipton has indicated that the corporate regulator will release updated guidance on responsible lending obligations before the end of 2019.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. JOINT STATUTORY COMMITTEE ON CORPORATIONS AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Minutes show Reserve Bank was close to November cut

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Original article by Matthew Cranston
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 20-Nov-19

The minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s board meeting on 5 November show that the central bank gave serious consideration to reducing the cash rate to 0.5 per cent. However, board members took into account factors such as the likely effect of further monetary policy easing on savers and consumer confidence. The board ultimately concluded that the best course of action would be to wait until the impact of previous interest rate cuts became clear.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD

Super funds approach double-digit returns, but Chant West urges caution

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 27 : 19-Nov-19

Data from Chant West shows that superannuation funds have achieved an average return of 14.3 per cent so far in 2019. The median growth fund gained 12.8 per cent in the first 10 months of the calendar year, after eking out a gain of 0.4 per cent in October. Mano Mohankumar of Chant West says the median growth fund appears to be on track to deliver a double-digit return in 2019, although he warns that the strong returns since the global financial crisis are not sustainable.

CORPORATES
CHANT WEST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, SUPERRATINGS PTY LTD

Fintechs slam CBA alerts as misleading

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 18-Nov-19

Raiz Invest has criticised the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for warning customers about the security risks associated with the use of fintech apps. CBA customers who use the Raiz app recently received a warning that their NetBank account had been compromised, and cautioned against sharing account log-in details with third parties. Raiz CEO George Lucas says the CBA alert was misleading and may even constitute an abuse of market power. Fintech Australia’s Rebecca Schot-Guppy says CBA’s actions are concerning given that the open banking regime is slated to begin in early 2020.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, RAIZ INVEST LIMITED – ASX RZI, FINTECH AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, ZIP CO LIMITED – ASX Z1P, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

NAB, ANZ to be grilled over wealth exits

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Original article by Aleks Vickovich
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 20 : 15-Nov-19

A federal parliamentary committee is examining the financial services sector’s response to the Hayne royal commission. ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott and National Australia Bank chairman and acting CEO Philip Chronican will appear before the committee on 15 November. Shadow assistant treasurer Andrew Leigh, who is the committee’s deputy chairman, says he is concerned about the amount of time the two banks are taking to divest their wealth management units; he says the general public expects the divestments to proceed.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Reserve finds silver lining in household debt cloud

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 27 : 15-Nov-19

Australia’s household debt-to-income ratio is now about 190 per cent, compared with around 70 per cent in the early 1990s. However, the Reserve Bank’s assistant governor Michele Bullock notes that households that are in the top 40 per cent of income distribution account for three quarters of household debt. Bullock adds that while there has also been an increase in mortgage loan arrears, it is largely confined to several states. She also says negative housing equity is generally not a major concern unless somebody becomes unemployed and must sell their home.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Sweden dumps Oz bonds over climate inertia

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Original article by Paul Garvey
The Australian – Page: 4 : 15-Nov-19

Shane Oliver of AMP Capital says the Swedish central bank’s decision to divest bonds issued by the Western Australian and Queensland government is unlikely to have much impact on Australian bond prices. Sveriges Riksbank deputy governor­ Martin Floden has cited Australia’s lack of sufficient action on climate change for the move. The central bank has sold its holdings of bonds issued by the Canadian province of Alberta for the same reason.

CORPORATES
SVERIGES RIKSBANK, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, INVESTOR GROUP ON CLIMATE CHANGE, S&P GLOBAL RATINGS, WESTERN AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF TREASURY AND FINANCE

QE coming next year: JPMorgan

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 12-Nov-19

JPMorgan Australia’s chief economist Sally Auld expects the Reserve Bank to implement unconventional monetary policy measures in the December 2020 quarter. Auld still anticipates another official interest rate cut in February, but warns that this will be insufficient to stimulate the economy, prompting the central bank to reduce the cash rate to 0.25 per cent and commence a quantitative easing program in late 2020. However, Auld says quantitative easing is unlikely to be necessary if the federal government’s May 2020 Budget includes ‘meaningful’ fiscal stimulus.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

Loans double at non-banks as majors slide

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Original article by Aleks Vickovich
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 12-Nov-19

Australia’s four major banks and their subsidiaries experienced a 10 per cent fall in market share in business lending and equipment finance in 2018-19, according to the inaugural business lending index report, put together by mortgage aggregator FAST. FAST Group CEO Brendan Wright says the ability of the major banks to service the demands of business customers is being hampered by distractions and regulatory hurdles, and that non-bank players are taking advantage of this situation.

CORPORATES
FAST GROUP, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

First home buyer risk riles banks

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 11-Nov-19

Major banks are doubtful that the federal government’s scheme to assist first-home buyers will start on its proposed date of 1 January. The scheme, announced during the final days of the May election campaign, will see the government provide up to 10,000 first-home buyers each year with free lenders’ mortgage insurance for people with deposits of as little as five per cent and less than 20 per cent. The big banks want the ability to charge higher interest rates for participants in the scheme, claiming that they will be a greater risk because of the low deposits involved.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB