K: Financial and Insurance Services

Industry super roars to the lead

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Jan-19

Rice Warner forecasts that industry superannuation funds will hold assets worth $800m in 2020, displacing self-managed super funds as the sector’s largest asset managers. Rice Warner also estimates that industry funds’ assets will top $1bn in 2024 and $1.7trn in 2033. Industry funds will boast a 37 per cent share of the market in 2033, ahead of SMSFs (30 per cent) and retail funds (23 per cent). Industry experts note that employers are becoming more willing to embrace industry funds, while the fallout from the financial services royal commission is expected to accelerate the shift from retail funds to industry funds.

CORPORATES
RICE WARNER ACTUARIES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, INDUSTRY SUPER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, HOST-PLUS, CONSTRUCTION AND BUILDING UNIONS’ SUPERANNUATION FUND, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, VANGUARD INVESTMENTS AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Banks in GST war with ATO

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Original article by John Kehoe
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 2 : 8-Jan-19

The Australian Taxation Office wants to cut the amount of goods and services tax credits that banks and other financial institutions claim for providing home loans, credit cards and transactional accounts. Experts suggest that the ATO’s clampdown could cost each of the big banks between $60 million and $80 million a year, while bank executives acknowledge that it will be very difficult for them to pass on any higher tax costs to customers, given the current poor reputation of the banking sector.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION

Challenging year in the offing for ASX listings

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Original article by William McInnes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 12 & 16 : 8-Jan-19

More than 130 companies debuted on the Australian sharemarket in 2018, but stock exchange operator ASX Limited expects the environment for new listings to be difficult in 2019. Max Cunningham, the ASX’s executive general manager of listings, says the first quarter in particular will be challenging given the recent market volatility, although the outlook for calendar 2019 will become clearer by March or April. He adds that several large technology companies are looking at IPOs, and he notes increased listing activity in the mining sector.

CORPORATES
ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, COLES GROUP LIMITED – ASX COL, PROPERTY EXCHANGE AUSTRALIA, COLONIAL FIRST STATE GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT, WISETECH GLOBAL LIMITED – ASX WTC, XERO LIMITED – ASX XRO, APPEN LIMITED – ASX APX

Fed will take a break from rate hikes: Yellen

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 8-Jan-19

The Federal Reserve raised US interest four times in 2018, and former chair Janet Yellen says another one or two rate rises may be necessary to prevent the economy from overheating. However, Yellen has told a conference in China that she does not expect the central bank to tighten monetary policy again immediately. Yellen’s successor Jerome Powell has signalled that the Federal Reserve will be flexible in its approach to monetary policy in 2019.

CORPORATES
UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE, UBS AG, AMERICAN ECONOMIC ASSOCIATION, PEOPLE’S BANK OF CHINA, EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT

After all the carnage, it may soon be time to buy

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 18 : 8-Jan-19

The S&P/ASX 200’s recent rally has seen its 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio return to its long-term average following a sharp sell-down in the December quarter. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is trading at around eight per cent below its long-term average. The near-term outlook for equities may depend on a range of factors, including trade negotiations between the US and China.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, STANDARD AND POOR’S 500 INDEX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION, MERRILL LYNCH AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, MSCI ALL COUNTRY WORLD INDEX

UBS, Macquarie top of the dealmaking charts

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 27 : 4-Jan-19

Data from Dealogic shows that UBS displaced Macquarie as Australia’s highest-earning investment bank in 2018, with revenue of $US219m. It was followed by Macquarie with revenue of $US146m and JP Morgan ($US108m). UBS was also the top revenue-earner in terms of mergers and acquisitions activity, handling some $US752m worth of deals in Australasia. JP Morgan generated the most revenue among investment banks globally, at $US6.9bn.

CORPORATES
DEALOGIC (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, JP MORGAN AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, BANK OF CHINA LIMITED, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP INCORPORATED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, EVERCORE PARTNERS, MOELIS AND COMPANY, CENTERVIEW

Rethink company strikes: Maxsted

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 15 & 16 : 4-Jan-19

The remuneration reports of three major banks attracted large protest votes at AGMs in December, putting them at risk of a board spill in 2019. Westpac chairman Lindsay Maxsted says the threshold for a ‘first strike’ is too low at 25 per cent, arguing that most resolutions put to annual meetings require a minimum vote of 50 per cent. Some 88 per cent of National Australia Bank shareholders voted against its remuneration report, while Westpac’s attracted a ‘no’ vote of 64.2 per cent.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED

Regulation slows loans: bank chief

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 4-Jan-19

Westpac chairman Lindsay ­Maxsted says the banking major is continuing to lend, but increased regulation of the sector means it is taking longer to approve loans. Maxsted adds that the focus on responsible lending obligations could have an adverse impact on the Australian economy. A number of business leaders have expressed similar concerns, and they have backed a call by federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg for banks to keep providing access to credit.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, ANSELL LIMITED – ASX ANN, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURAL COMMODITIES PTY LTD, NUFARM LIMITED – ASX NUF, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Revenge of machines: dollar’s flash crash to 10-year low

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 15 & 20 : 4-Jan-19

The Australian dollar fell to $US0.6741 early in local trading on 3 January, its lowest level since 2009. The so-called ‘flash crash’ event was attributed to algorithmic trading. However, the currency recovered much of the lost ground and was fetching $US0.6968 late in the local trading session. Asian currencies, the US dollar and the British pound also fell sharply. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says many factors influence the direction of the Australian dollar, noting that it is the world’s fifth-most traded currency.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, PEPPERSTONE GROUP LIMITED

AMP hotlines to bury fears of charging dead

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 3-Jan-19

Embattled financial services group AMP has implemented a range of measures aimed at avoiding a repeat of the scandal in which clients continued to be charged fees after they had died. Amongst other things, AMP has established a deceased estates hotline and an online services for administrators, executors and legal representatives of the deceased. AMP’s share price has fallen sharply in the wake of the financial services royal commission’s revelations, while five law firms are preparing class actions.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, RESOLUTION LIFE GROUP LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COUNT FINANCIAL LIMITED