BANKS AND BANKING – AUSTRALIA – REGULATION

Investors twitchy ahead of new capital rules

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Original article by James Eyers, James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 7 : 19-Jul-17

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is poised to unveil its revised capital rules for the banking sector on 19 July. There has been speculation that APRA will require banks to increase their equity capital. Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley forecasts that the Commonwealth Bank of Australia will report a common equity tier 1 capital ratio of about 9.9 per cent for fiscal 2017. Richard Wiles of Morgan Stanley says APRA’s new capital requirements constitute the biggest source of risk for CBA in the near-term.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, GOLDMAN SACHS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD

Banks may have to sell rivals’ products

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 24-Apr-17

Australian Securities & Investments Commission chairman Greg Medcraft says the regulator may use soon-to-be acquired powers to restrict the scope of banks to cross-sell products. He was speaking at a financial technology forum in London. He said it is also possible that banks could be compelled to sell products offered by rivals under its "product intervention" powers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, AUSTRALIAN BRITISH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Big four looking good on capital

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Original article by Tony Boyd
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 40 : 5-Jan-17

Australia’s major banks are unlikely to be affected by a dispute between the European banks and the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Predictably, the European banks are resisting the committee’s stricter capital requirements. The committee stated on 4 January 2017 that aid the regulatory reforms would be delayed as more time is needed to finalise some of their aspects. Unlike the European banks, the big four Australian banks have sufficient levels of common equity tier 1 capital to meet the committee’s new requirements.

CORPORATES
BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, SOCIETE GENERALE SA, UNICREDIT SPA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, FITCH INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

ASIC raps banks for forex faults

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 22-Dec-16

National Australia Bank and the Commonwealth Bank have agreed to enforceable undertakings from the Australian Securities & ­Investments Commission regarding their wholesale spot foreign exchange businesses. It follows ASIC’s investigation into inappropriate conduct by foreign exchange traders at the two major banks. Three of the nation’s "big four" banks are also the subject of legal action over allegations that they manipulated the bank bill swap rate.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Bad bank behaviour to be revealed

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Original article by Phillip Coorey, Joanna Mather, James Eyers, Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 6 : 25-Nov-16

The House of Representatives standing committee on economics has released a report on banks. Treasurer Scott Morrison said on 24 November 2016 that the committee’s recommendations were "very constructive" and "very practical", thus signalling his willingness to accept them. The recommendations include the creation of a new unit to ensure the right level of competition in the banking sector and easier access to customer data collected by banks. Committee chair David Coleman has described Australia’s banking sector as an oligopoly.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, RATESETTER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Buck doesn’t stop with top execs

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 25 : 11-Nov-16

When the CEOs of Australia’s four major banks appeared before an economics committee in October 2016 they revealed that no senior executives have been sacked over scandals that have plagued the sector. National Australia Bank has sacked 43 financial planners, while Westpac has sacked 139 of the 885 employees it has investigated for potential breaches of its code of conduct. Meanwhile, just 16 of the employees that have been dismissed by the Commonwealth Bank were executive managers.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMINSURE, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, FINANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Supervision the best defence, urges RBA

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Original article by Michael Bennet
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 9-Sep-16

Philip Lowe says that thorough supervision of banks is the best way to safeguard against a financial crisis, and he argues that regulatory reforms alone are insufficient. Lowe will shortly succeed Glenn Stevens as Reserve Bank of Australia governor. The banking sector has been subject to greater scrutiny by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority in recent years, while they are expected to face further regulatory requirements when the so-called Basel IV reforms are finalised by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, BANK FOR INTERNATIONAL SETTLEMENTS. BASEL COMMITTEE ON BANKING SUPERVISION, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, GROUP OF TWENTY (G-20), UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Big four banks sued by US funds over BBSW

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 19-Aug-16

A class action launched in the US may complicate the Australian Securities & Investments Commission’s litigation against three of Australia’s big four banks. The litigants, including a derivatives trader and two hedge funds, allege in documents filed in a New York court that they suffered losses because the four major banks and Macquarie Group manipulated the bank bill swap rate. The US litigation makes a settlement between ASIC and the ANZ Bank, Westpac and National Australia Bank rather unlikely.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, DISTRICT COURT OF UNITED STATES. SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK, SONTERRA CAPITAL MASTER FUND, FRONTPOINT FINANCIAL SERVICES, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, BANK OF NEW ZEALAND, BNP PARIBAS SA, CITIBANK CORPORATION, CREDIT SUISSE AG, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, HSBC HOLDINGS PLC, JP MORGAN CHASE AND COMPANY, ROYAL BANK OF CANADA, ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC, UC HOLDINGS, ICAP PLC, TULLETT PREBON, MORGAN STANLEY AND COMPANY INCORPORATED, LLOYD’S OF LONDON

Coalition MPs rally against bank ‘bastardry’

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Original article by Sarah Martin, David Crowe
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 16-Aug-16

There is a growing push among Federal Government MPs for action to crack down on the banking sector, which is enjoying massive profits and paying its top executives huge salaries. Liberal MP Warren Entsch favours the establishment of a tribunal to assist the victims of what he calls the "bastard acts" of banks. Entsch says this would be preferable to holding a royal commission into the sector. Fellow Liberal MP Craig Kelly has proposed the introduction of laws prohibiting banks from charging late fees on credit card payments.

CORPORATES
LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, FINANCE AND PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN

NAB set to face claims of rate-rigging

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Original article by Sarah Thompson, Jemima Whyte, Anthony Macdonald
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 3-Jun-16

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission has a narrow time-frame to decide whether to pursue legal action against National Australia Bank for manipulating the bank bill swap rate. The alleged conduct occurred on 6 June 2010, which means ASIC must commence legal proceedings within days under the statute of limitations. Westpac and ANZ Bank have already been the subject of ASIC action over such conduct, while several investment banks have agreed to enforceable undertakings.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, UBS AG, ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND GROUP PLC, BNP PARIBAS SA