K: Financial and Insurance Services

LA bushfires spark insurance hike warning

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Original article by Summer Liu
The Australian – Page: 7 : 14-Jan-25

The Insurance Council of Australia’s 2023-24 Catastrophe Resilience report shows that the nation’s average insured losses from bushfires totalled $220m per year over the last three decades. However, this has increased to more than $560m in the past five years. Alix Pearce from the ICA says factors such as worsening extreme weather, inflationary pressures and global reinsurance prices are putting upwards pressure on insurance premium across Australia. There are fears that the catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles will result in further increases in Australians’ insurance premiums.

CORPORATES
INSURANCE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

LA bushfires spark insurance hike warning

roymorgansocial Leave a comment

Original article by Summer Liu
The Australian – Page: 7 : 14-Jan-25

The Insurance Council of Australia’s 2023-24 Catastrophe Resilience report shows that the nation’s average insured losses from bushfires totalled $220m per year over the last three decades. However, this has increased to more than $560m in the past five years. Alix Pearce from the ICA says factors such as worsening extreme weather, inflationary pressures and global reinsurance prices are putting upwards pressure on insurance premium across Australia. There are fears that the catastrophic wildfires in Los Angeles will result in further increases in Australians’ insurance premiums.

CORPORATES
INSURANCE COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED

ASX listings climb with hopes for more

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Original article by Matt Bell
The Australian – Page: 18 : 8-Jan-25

A total of 67 companies listed on the Australian sharemarket in 2024, compared with just 45 in the previous calendar year. It also follows 107 new listings in 2022 and 241 in 2021. However, takeovers and de-listings resulted in the number of companies on the ASX falling from 2,191 in 2023 to 2,116 at the end of 2024. James Posnett from the ASX is upbeat about the outlook for new listings in 2025, noting that there has been increased confidence and renewed interest in listing in recent months.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX

Watchdog probes fee theft from dead people: ANZ in more strife

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis, David Ross
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 18-Dec-24

The ANZ Bank’s board is likely to face more pressure to address compliance issues in the wake of allegations that fees were deducted from the accounts of customers who had died. Sources have indicated that the Australian Securities & Investments Commission is considering enforcement action against ANZ’s retail banking arm in response to the scandal. Helen Bird from Swinburne University says it is "surprising and disappointing" that scandals of this nature are still occurring more than five years after AMP came under scrutiny by the Hayne royal commission for engaging in this conduct.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, SWINBURNE UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY

Outsider to lead ANZ into new era

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Original article by Lucas Baird, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 17 : 10-Dec-24

The ANZ Bank has advised that Nuno Matos will succeed CEO Shayne Elliott in mid-2025. Matos was previously the head of wealth management and personal banking at HSBC; he had also been considered for the role of CEO at Westpac, although the major bank opted to replace Peter King with internal candidate Anthony Miller. High Dive from Atlas Funds Managements says an external appointment will be able to help resolve cultural issues at ANZ. These include a bond trading scandal in its markets division, which effectively ruled out the head of institutional banking Mark Whelan as Elliott’s replacement.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, HSBC BANK PLC, ATLAS FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

ANZ’s Elliott to quit after nine years

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro, Kylar Loussikian
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 23 : 9-Dec-24

The ANZ Bank is tipped to appoint an external candidate to succeed CEO Shayne Elliott, who is expected to step down within days. ANZ’s acquisition of Suncorp Bank for $4.9bn and a bond trading scandal are likely to be the key legacies of Elliott’s tenure at the helm, which began in 2016. ANZ has also scaled back its Asian operations under Elliott, while it has ramped up investment in platforms such as ANZ Plus. Meanwhile, ANZ has delivered a total return to shareholders of 111 per cent since Elliott became CEO; this higher than Westpac’s return but much lower than that of the Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank.

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

Cbus union payments in the spotlight

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Original article by Glenda Korporaal
The Australian – Page: 13 & 19 : 4-Dec-24

Deloitte has made 26 recommendations following its independent review of payments made by construction industry superannuation fund Cbus to the CFMEU. A spokesman for Cbus has indicated that it will accept ‘in principle’ all of the recommendations in Deloitte’s report, and it will work with the accounting firm to develop an action plan to implement each of the recommendations. Amongst other things, Deloitte concluded that Cbus lacked appropriate procedures to ensure that payments to the union were in accordance with its requirement to act in the best financial interest of members.

CORPORATES
CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED

ASX 200 tops 8500 on Santa rally

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Original article by Joanne Tran
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 4-Dec-24

Tribeca Investment Partners portfolio manager Jun Bei Liu says the Black Friday sales should boost investor sentiment in the lead-up to Christmas. Liu notes that the S&P/ASX 200 consumer discretionary index gained seven per cent in November; it also rose by 1.2 per cent on Tuesday, contributing to the S&P/ASX 200’s rise above the 8,500-point level for the first time. Andrew Mitchell from Ophir Asset Management says Donald Trump’s presidential election win has prompted renewed optimism among investors in the US and Australia.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY INDEX, TRIBECA INVESTMENT PARTNERS PTY LTD, OPHIR ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD

Aussie to drop materially in 2025, CBA warns

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Original article by Alex Gluyas
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 25 : 4-Dec-24

The Commonwealth Bank is bearish about the outlook for the Australian dollar in 2025, amid fears of a trade war when US president-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House. The currency has fallen by 7.3 per cent since its most recent peak in September; it was fetching $US0.6470 on Tuesday, having reached a low of $US0.6432 last week. The Commonwealth Bank now expects the currency to fall to $US0.61 by September, but head of international equities Joseph Capurso says it could fall much further and faster if the trade war is more disruptive than anticipated.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

WiseTech helps Aussie tech beat Nasdaq

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Original article by Joanne Tran
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 3-Dec-24

The S&P/ASX 200 Techology Index had gained 56.4 per cent so far in 2024. The index has outperformed the Australian sharemarket’s other 11 industry groups and the technology-focused NASDAQ-100 in the US, which has gained 24.4 per cent. WiseTech Global, Life360, Xero and Technology One are amongst the ASX-listed technology stocks that have rallied in 2024. Tim Riordan from Blackwattle Investment Partners says factors such as the strong financial metrics of tech stocks has bolstered investor support for the sector. He adds that concerns about the outlook for resources stocks has also prompted investors to favour the tech sector.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 TECHNOLOGY INDEX, NASDAQ, WISETECH GLOBAL LIMITED – ASX WTC, LIFE360 INCORPORATED – ASX 360, XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO, TECHNOLOGY ONE LIMITED – ASX TNE, BLACKWATTLE INVESTMENT PARTNERS PTY LTD