K: Financial and Insurance Services

The 2018 8th Annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards: Banking and Finance Winners

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 25-Feb-19

Australia’s most satisfying banks, insurers and superannuation funds have been announced at the 8th Annual Roy Morgan Customer Satisfaction Awards. In a very difficult year for banking with the Royal Commission, declining trust, combined with disrupters, it is a major achievement to be rated the number one bank for customer satisfaction. The winner in a very crowded field has to be a strong performer, and this honour goes to Heritage Bank. For the sixth year running, the Commonwealth Bank has claimed the annual award for Major Bank of the Year, driven in particular by strength in mobile and internet banking satisfaction. People’s Choice Credit Union is again the winner in the category of Building Societies and Credit Unions, while RACT has won the General Insurer award for the fourth year in a row, with a clean sweep of the 12 monthly titles. Meanwhile, not-for-profit health fund St Luke’s Health has again won the Private Health Insurer award, while Macquarie and Catholic Super are retail and industry super fund of the year respectively.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, HERITAGE BANK LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, PEOPLE’S CHOICE CREDIT UNION, RACT INSURANCE PTY LTD, ST LUKE’S HEALTH INSURANCE, MACQUARIE SUPERANNUATION, CATHOLIC SUPER

Westpac faces class action on loans

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 24 : 22-Feb-19

Westpac intends to defend a class action launched by Maurice Blackburn on behalf of home loan customers. The law firm will contend that Westpac breached its responsible lending obligations by failing to sufficiently assess borrowers’ capacity to repay the loan and to verify information about their financial circumstances. Westpac had been subject to similar legal action by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission in 2018, and that case will return to court after a settlement was rejected by the presiding judge.

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

Evans’ rate cut talk turns focus on RBA stance

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 30 : 22-Feb-19

Westpac’s chief economist Bill Evans now expects the Reserve Bank to reduce the cash rate twice in 2019, in August and November. His forecast is based on expectations that economic growth will slow to 2.2 per cent in 2019 and 2020, with the unemployment rate rising to 5.5 per cent in the second half of 2019. Evans had previously expected official interest rates to remain on hold for the next two years.

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

Gillespie predicts RBA will trim rates as house prices fall

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Original article by Natasha Gillezeau
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 28 : 21-Feb-19

Brett Gillespie of Ellerston Capital estimates that there is a 30 per chance that the Reserve Bank of Australia will reduce official interest rates in April. In contrast, financial markets are currently pricing in a six per cent chance of a rate cut. Gillespie expects a further downturn in house prices in the near-term, which may prompt the central bank to ease monetary policy prior to the federal election. The RBA adopted a more dovish tone on interest rates at its February meeting, after signalling in December that rates were more likely to go up than down.

CORPORATES
ELLERSTON CAPITAL PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

NAB CEO forfeits $22m as push for changing of the guard speeds up

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 & 22 : 21-Feb-19

National Australia Bank has revealed that former CEO Andrew Thorburn will receive a ‘golden handshake’ of $1m. However, he will forgo about $22m in performance rights following his resignation. Thorburn was paid about $4m in 2018, but acting CEO Phil Chronican will be paid just $150,000 a month while he is in the role. Meanwhile, NAB chairman Ken Henry will have no role in selecting a permanent successor to Thorburn, while Angus Gluskie of White Funds Management has urged NAB to choose a new CEO within six months.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WHITE FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED

David Morgan reveals failed Westpac-CBA mega-merger

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Original article by Tony Boyd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 20-Feb-19

The official biography of former Westpac CEO David Morgan outlines the bank’s proposed merger with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia in 1989, when he was the head of institutional banking at Westpac. The merger ultimately failed to proceed due to disagreement over leadership of the new entity. Westpac CEO Bob Joss was to have been overlooked in favour of CBA CEO David Murray, with Joss to be given the role of vice-chairman in charge of restructuring. CBA directors were also against Morgan and Westpac CFO Pat Handley joining the board of the combined group.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, DBS BANK LIMITED, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

House price falls key caveat for Reserve

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Original article by Matthew Cranston, Natasha Gillezeau
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 20-Feb-19

The minutes of the Reserve Bank’s monthly board meeting show that the central bank believes that the cases for an increase or a reduction in the cash rate are "more evenly balanced" now than they had been over the last year. In contrast, the Reserve Bank had stated in December that a rate rise is more likely. The central bank has also noted that dwelling investment is likely to decline more sharply than previously anticipated, and it has given indications that the outlook for house prices may influence the timing of the next change in monetary policy.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Super changes to cost AMP $30m annually

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Original article by Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 19-Feb-19

Embattled wealth manager AMP has advised that the federal government’s superannuation reforms will reduce its operating earnings by about $10m in 2019 and up to $30m in 2020. The reforms will allow the Australian Taxation Office to consolidate super accounts that are inactive or have low balances. AMP estimates that the reforms will affect about 370,000 of its super accounts. The bill has been passed by the Senate with the Greens’ support, although it has yet to be passed by the lower house.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Westpac cops flak after flat quarterly post

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 18 : 19-Feb-19

Westpac has reported a statutory net profit of $1.95bn and a cash profit of $2.04bn for the December 2018 quarter. Both figures were largely unchanged from the two previous quarters. Westpac has also advised that its net interest margin rose during the quarter, while there was an increase in both secured and unsecured mortgage delinquencies. Meanwhile, the Australian Securities & Investments Commission will appeal a Federal Court ruling that a marketing campaign by Westpac’s BT arm between 2014 and 2016 did not breach its financial services licence.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

I’ll prove the royal commission wrong, Henry vows

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Original article by John Durie
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 15-Feb-19

National Australia Bank is to follow the lead of Suncorp and set up a board committee that focuses on customers. NAB chairman Ken Henry says he did not intend to appear arrogant when he gave evidence at the royal commission. Henry says he feels that NAB is on the right path to restoring its tainted reputation, and that he intends to prove commissioner Kenneth Hayne wrong. Henry will step down when a replacement for CEO Andrew Thorburn is appointed.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY