K: Financial and Insurance Services

Banks receive the most gripes at new complaints authority

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Original article by Elouise Fowler
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 6-Dec-18

The Australian Financial Complaints Authority has received some 6,522 complaints from consumers and small business owners since it was established on 1 November. Banks were the source of 2,367 complaints during AFCA’s first month of operation, ahead of insurers with 1,159 complaints. AFCA replaced the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Credit & Investment Ombudsman and the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL COMPLAINTS AUTHORITY, FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN SERVICE LIMITED, CREDIT AND INVESTMENT OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. SUPERANNUATION COMPLAINTS TRIBUNAL

Bank pay backlash to hit pair

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 14 & 16 : 4-Dec-18

The Australian Shareholders’ Association has urged investors to vote against the re-election of Craig Dunn as a director of Westpac at its upcoming AGM, as has proxy adviser CGI Glass Lewis. Both have concerns about his role as the former CEO of AMP and his chairmanship of Westpac’s remuneration committee. CGI has also recommended that Paula Dwyer not be re-elected as a director of the ANZ Bank at its AGM, while fellow proxy firm ISS also has concerns about Dwyer’s re-election. Australia’s AGM season has been quite turbulent so far, with a number of directors recording a significant percentage of votes against their re-election.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION, CGI GLASS LEWIS PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, INSTITUTIONAL SHAREHOLDER SERVICES INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, APA GROUP – ASX APA, COMPUTERSHARE LIMITED – ASX CPU, JAPARA HEALTHCARE LIMITED – ASX JHC, MYER HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX MYR, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, RAMSAY HEALTH CARE LIMITED – ASX RHC, TABCORP HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX TAH, HEALTHSCOPE LIMITED – ASX HSO, AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL OF SUPERANNUATION INVESTORS INCORPORATED

Sharemarket in $30bn surge after thaw in US-China trade war

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Original article by David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 4-Dec-18

Materials and energy stocks posted the strongest gains on 3 December, with the Australian sharemarket rebounding from a big fall in the previous trading session. Investors responded positively to trade discussions between the US and China at the G20 meeting, as well as claims by President Donald Trump that China has agreed to remove tariffs on US cars. Meanwhile, the Australian dollar peaked at a four-month high of $US0.7384 in local trading.

CORPORATES
STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, BHP GROUP LIMITED – ASX BHP, RIO TINTO LIMITED – ASX RIO, FORTESCUE METALS GROUP LIMITED – ASX FMG, SOUTH32 LIMITED – ASX S32, OZ MINERALS LIMITED – ASX OZL, BLUESCOPE STEEL LIMITED – ASX BSL, BORAL LIMITED – ASX BLD, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, BEACH ENERGY LIMITED – ASX BPT, ORIGIN ENERGY LIMITED – ASX ORG, SHANGHAI COMPOSITE INDEX, HANG SENG INDEX, NIKKEI 225 INDEX, KOSPI INDEX, FTSE 100 INDEX

Super loopholes cost retirees billions

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Original article by Anthony Klan, Olivia Caisley
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 3-Dec-18

Professor Thomas Clarke says lobbyists from the financial sector have done a good job in persuading governments to go easy on the regulation of superannuation over recent decades. The University of Technology, Sydney academic says this has come at the expense of workers and retirees, who he claims are losing billions each year because of exemptions in various pieces of superannuation legislation. The Australian Institute of Superannuation Trustees, which funded Clarke’s research, states that both sides of politics have been guilty of watering down legislation.

CORPORATES
UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY, SYDNEY, AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTE OF SUPERANNUATION TRUSTEES, RICE WARNER ACTUARIES PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SUPERRATINGS PTY LTD

AMP’s new CEO starts in the hot seat

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Original article by Misa Han
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 & 20 : 3-Dec-18

Francesco De Ferrari starts his first day as CEO of AMP on 3 December, having previously been head of Credit Suisse’s Asia-Pacific private banking business. De Ferrari says he is determined to make the most of the impetus provided by the banking royal commission to bring about change in the way that AMP does business. Hamish Carlisle from Merlon Capital says De Ferrari should give AMP shareholders the opportunity to vote on the proposed sale of the AMP Life division, as well as renegotiating the deal if possible.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AMP LIFE LIMITED, CREDIT SUISSE AG, MERLON CAPITAL PARTNERS PTY LTD, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, ATLAS FUNDS MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SHAREHOLDERS’ ASSOCIATION

ANZ staff morale low amid overhaul

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Original article by Ben Butler, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 23 : 30-Nov-18

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott has told the financial services royal commission that the bank’s staff must feel free to speak up about governance issues. The inquiry has been presented with the results of a survey which found that morale at ANZ has declined. Amongst other things, the proportion of employees who said they feel able to raise issues and concerns without fear of negative consequences has fallen by three per cent since 2016 to 67 per cent. Likewise, the proportion of employees who stated that they rarely look for another job has fallen from 63 per cent to 56 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

ANZ compo for millions of accounts

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Original article by Ben Butler, Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 29-Nov-18

ANZ Bank CEO Shayne Elliott has conceded that it has taken far too long for the bank to compensate customers for losses incurred as a result of misconduct. Elliott has told the financial services royal commission that its remediation program is likely to embrace about two million accounts. However, he notes that some customers might have multiple account that qualify for compensation. Elliott also suggested that many of the governance issues at ANZ can be attributed to its business model under predecessor Mike Smith.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, ONEPATH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL

Henry: NAB board was too soft

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Original article by James Frost, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 28-Nov-18

National Australia Bank’s chairman Ken Henry appeared before the financial services royal commission again on 27 November. He told the inquiry that NAB’s "toxic" relationship with the Australian Securities & Investments Commission had affected the bank’s ability to compensate customers in a timely manner for losses incurred as a result of misconduct. He also conceded that NAB’s board could have done more to compel the bank’s executives to seek improved relations with ASIC.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

NAB chief warns: culture fix may be a decade away

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 2 : 27-Nov-18

National Australia Bank’s chairman Ken Henry has conceded that it could take up to 10 years to address issues with the bank’s culture that have been exposed by the financial services royal commission. He has told the inquiry that NAB has had the lowest compliance risk rating for all but one month in the seven years that he has been its board. Henry also said that it is more appropriate for the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to have oversight of the banking sector’s culture than the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

No credit crunch: RBA blames investors for property slowdown

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Original article by Andrew White
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 27-Nov-18

A regulatory crackdown on investor and interest-only property loans has seen growth in housing credit fall below five per cent in 2018, compared with around seven per cent in 2015. However, the Reserve Bank of Australia’s assistant governor Christopher Kent says high-quality borrowers can still gain access to credit at competitive rates. He notes that there appears to have been a larger fall in the average interest rate for investors than owner-occupiers in the last year.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY