Higher bank capital to bite investors, clients

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 21-Jul-15

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has ruled that the nation’s major banks – and Macquarie Group – will need to hold more capital against residential mortgages. The average risk weighting on mortgage loans will rise from around 16 per cent to at least 25 per cent from 1 July 2016. Jarrod Martin of Credit Suisse estimates that the increased capital requirements will result in a modest rise in mortgage interest rates, while Richard Wiles of Morgan Stanley forecasts that dividend payouts will be reduced as a result of the reforms.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, CUSTOMER OWNED BANKING ASSOCIATION, DELOITTE TOUCHE TOHMATSU LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

David Murray endorses APRA on banks’ capital

Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 15-Jul-15

Proposed new capital requirements for banks have been described as "sensible" by financial system inquiry chairman David Murray. The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has adopted some key recommendations of the inquiry, and Murray says he is not concerned about the fact that it rejected a recommendation for the nation’s banks to be among the top 25 in the world in terms of capital ratios.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

CBA, ANZ tipped to lead $28b in capital raisings

Original article by Clancy Yeates, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 10 : 14-Jul-15

Shares in Australia’s four major banks fell on 13 July 2015, after the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) indicated that they will need to lift their capital by 200 basis points. However, APRA does not think it necessary for the banks to have sufficient capital to rank them in the top quartile globally. Jarrod Martin of Credit Suisse estimates that the banks will need to raise about $A28bn of additional capital to comply with APRA’s recommendation.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CREDIT SUISSE (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, 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, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION

ANZ tipped to exit Asia banks

Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 21 : 3-Jul-15

The ANZ Bank currently has a lower common equity tier 1 capital ratio than its peers, although at 8.7 per cent it is comfortably above the minimum requirement. However, Andrew Triggs of Deutsche Bank expects ANZ to offload some of its stakes in Asian banks in order to lift its capital ratio. He estimates that selling stakes in three of these banks – as well as the Esanda business – could boost ANZ’s capital ratio to more than 10 per cent.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, ESANDA FINANCE CORPORATION LIMITED, PT PANIN BANK, AMBANK BERHAD, BANK OF TIANJIN COMPANY LIMITED, SHANGHAI RURAL COMMERCIAL BANK, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CLYDESDALE BANK PLC, GREAT WESTERN BANK, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, BLOOMBERG LP

Big four won’t need to seek capital: analysts

Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 11-Jun-15

JP Morgan has suggested that Australia’s four major banks will have to undertake equity raisings totalling $A14bn to comply with proposed capital requirements. However, Citigroup believes that the banks can comply with any changes to capital rules via their dividend reinvestment plans. National Australia Bank recently raised $A5.5bn via a rights issue.

CORPORATES
JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA