K: Financial and Insurance Services

NAB, ANZ most at risk as Millennials switch

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 25-Mar-19

Millennial Future has found that National Australia Bank and ANZ customers are most likely to change banks in the wake of the banking royal commission. NAB came in for a lot of criticism during the royal commission, while a February survey by Roy Morgan found that NAB was the least trusted bank brand in Australia. Millennial Future’s findings were based on a survey of over 1,200 bank customers between the ages of 19 and 36, although it found that bank and finance brands were still considered more trustworthy than media and insurance brands.

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

Chronican plans to put NAB back in business

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 18 : 25-Mar-19

Business banking will be a key focus of National Australia Bank’s growth strategy, says incoming chairman Philip Chronican. He notes that NAB has the biggest presence in Australia’s business banking market, particularly in the small business sector. Chronican has also identified automation as an area in which NAB is lagging behind its rivals, and stresses the need to reduce costs. Other priorities for NAB include appointing a successor to former CEO Andrew Thorburn and restoring its reputation in the wake of the Hayne royal commission.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FINANCE SECTOR UNION

Patient Fed backs off rate hikes

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Original article by Vesna Poljak
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 12 : 22-Mar-19

The Federal Reserve is now widely tipped to leave the cash rate unchanged until 2020, after it adopted a more dovish stance at its latest monetary policy meeting. The central bank has dampened expectations of two interest rate increases in 2019, with chairman Jerome Powell indicating that the cash rate may be left on hold for some time. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s stance has heightened speculation regarding the timing of any rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX

Tax big banks for implied guarantee

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 25 : 22-Mar-19

Australia’s four major banks are able to access wholesale funding at cheaper rates because of an implied guarantee that the federal government will not let them fail because of their size. ME Bank CEO Jamie McPhee says governments should tax the bigger banks because they get cheaper funding as a result of the "too big to fail" guarantee, and that this would make it easier for smaller banks to compete. ME Bank has advised that its net profit for the second half of 2018 fell 11 per cent to $41 million.

CORPORATES
ME BANK, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION

Shares on track for bumper quarter

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 21 & 30 : 22-Mar-19

The S&P/ASX 200 has gained 9.2 per cent so far in 2019, putting it on track for the best quarterly return since 2009. The rebound follows a loss of 6.9 per cent for the benchmark index in calendar 2018, including a nine per cent loss in the fourth quarter. However, Chris Nicol of Morgan Stanley is bearish about the outlook for the local bourse, forecasting that the S&P/ASX 200 will end the year at 5,800 points. He also forecasts economic growth of just two per cent in 2019.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MSCI ALL COUNTRY WORLD INDEX, SUPERRATINGS PTY LTD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Reserve urges stingy banks to open up the credit floodgates

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Original article by Paul Garvey, David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 29 : 21-Mar-19

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s assistant governor Michele Bullock has urged the nation’s banks to be less risk-averse with regard to mortgage lending. She has used an Urban Development Institute of Australia speech to argue that banks should relax their lending standards in the wake of the Hayne royal commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s move to ease restrictions on lending. Bullock added that a credit crunch in Australia is unlikely, but this could depend on the outlook for the housing market.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, URBAN DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION

Boutique and robo models the new face of financial advice

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Original article by James Eyers, Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 21-Mar-19

Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer expects banks to focus on using automated solutions to provide personal financial advice in future, due to the high cost of providing such services. Hamilton Wealth CEO Will Hamilton agrees that so-called robo-advice may be the only option for banks if they are to continue to offer financial advice on a large scale. Hartzer adds that consumers will still be able to pay for bespoke personal finance advice via boutique firms.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, HAMILTON WEALTH MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, VIRIDIAN ADVISORY PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, KORDA CAPITAL, SIX PARK

Westpac retreats from financial advice

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 16 : 20-Mar-19

Westpac will cease serving its existing personal financial advice customers at the end of June, after striking a deal with Viridian to exit the sector. Westpac CEO Brian Hartzer concedes that its personal finance advice business has not been profitable for some time, and increased regulation was a major factor in its decision to withdraw from the sector. Westpac faces restructuring costs of $250m to $300m, while about 900 full-time equivalent employees will be impacted by the decision to exit financial advice. Westpac expects the move to result in annual savings of $280m by 2020.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, VIRIDIAN ADVISORY PTY LTD

Cash rate could fall below 1pc, UBS says

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 28 : 19-Mar-19

George Tharenou of UBS says the Reserve Bank of Australia should immediately reduce the cash rate by 50 basis points to one per cent, given the state of the economy and the housing market. Tharenou adds that the central bank should also signal that it is prepared to cut official interest rates even further in order to avoid a market shock later on. He has also not ruled out measures such as quantitative easing. Tharenou expects rate cuts in July and August, although he says weak labour market data could force its hand earlier.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Hayne incites confusion over financial industry codes

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 2 : 18-Mar-19

Financial services industry codes have been designed by industry bodies such as the Australian Banking Association and the Financial Services Council. The banking code is enforceable through contracts between banks and customers, but codes covering non-banking financial services are not legally or contractually enforceable. One of the Hayne royal commission’s recommendations was that industry codes should be more legally enforceable, but governments, regulators and industry bodies are uncertain as to how to implement the recommendation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION, FINANCIAL SERVICES COUNCIL, INSURANCE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL COMPLAINTS AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY