BANKS AND BANKING – AUSTRALIA

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

Satisfaction with banks declines further in October

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 26-Nov-18

New results from Roy Morgan shows that customer satisfaction with Australia’s banks fell to 78.0% in the six months to October 2018, compared with 78.5% in the six months to September. Satisfaction with banks was 81.2% in the six months to January 2018, prior to the Finance Royal Commission. The decline of 3.2% since January has resulted in the lowest satisfaction with banks in seven years, although it remains above the long-term average and is much higher than the 58.7% recorded in 2001. Satisfaction with the four major banks has fallen to 75.0%, down from 79.2% in the six months to January. However, satisfaction among customers of other banks has declined by only 1% over the same period, leaving them with an overall customer satisfaction rating of 83.9%. Roy Morgan’s "Customer Satisfaction-Consumer Banking in Australia October Report" is based on in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 consumers per annum in their homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED

Moore claims Macquarie pay model is better than the majors

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 24 : 23-Nov-18

Macquarie Group CEO Nicholas Moore has told the banking royal commission that its remuneration model is superior to those used by Australia’s major banks. Moore said its model provides more accountability, and that profit share is more powerful than bonuses. Commenting on the issue of the commissions paid to mortgage brokers, Moore said he would be reluctant to see them abolish and replaced with a flat fee, as consumers might be reluctant to pay the latter.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Trust key to Australian economy: RBA boss

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Original article by Marnie Banger
News.com.au – Page: Online : 21-Nov-18

Reserve Bank governor Philip Lowe has stressed the importance of trust to the Australian economy and society. Lowe noted that the level of trust in banks has been damaged by the revelations of the financial services royal commission; he added that to restore trust, banks must take action of resolve conflict of interest issues, abolish poorly-designed incentive systems and ensure that there is accountability for misconduct. Lowe also said consumers need to be able to trust that their living standards will improve over time. In recent years, wages have increased in line with the inflation rate.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COMMITTEE FOR ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT OF AUSTRALIA

CommBank CEO Matt Comyn fronts banking royal commission

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Original article by Alexis Carey
News.com.au – Page: Online : 20-Nov-18

Commonwealth Bank CEO Matt Comyn has told the financial services royal commission that the major bank has tended to react to misconduct rather than taking action to prevent it in the first place. Comyn also conceded that there are "inherent risks" associated with a staff bonus scheme. However, he struggled to explain why a fixed salary would not be sufficient for the majority of the bank’s employees. The royal commission’s interim report noted that variable pay can encourage a culture of misconduct in the banking sector.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK LIMITED – ASX BEN, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

Banks might be warming to lithium

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Original article by Peter Ker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 23 : 16-Nov-18

Patrick Cocquerel of Westpac says the lack of a benchmark price for lithium has made banks somewhat reluctant to provide financing for Australian lithium producers. The nation’s burgeoning lithium industry has instead been largely financed via debt, equity, specialist lenders and payments from forward sales of the metal. Foreign banks have also been more willing to provide financing for lithium projects, but Cocquerel notes that local banks – including Westpac – are becoming more active in the sector.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, PILBARA MINERALS LIMITED – ASX PLS, GALAXY RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX GXY, BNP PARIBAS SA, KIDMAN RESOURCES LIMITED – ASX KDR, SOCIEDAD QUIMICA Y MINERA SA, S&P GLOBAL MARKET INTELLIGENCE, ALBERMARLE CORPORATION

CBA, NAB chairmen to face Hayne heat

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 23 : 14-Nov-18

Commonwealth Bank of Australia chair Catherine Livingstone will appear before the financial services royal commission on 19 November. National Australia Bank chairman Ken Henry is expected to front the inquiry in the following week. The CEOs of the four major banks will also give evidence during the final round of public hearings, along with Macquarie Group’s Nicholas Moore, AMP’s Mike Wilkins and the heads of ASIC and APRA. CBA and NAB attracted criticism in the royal commission’s interim report.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

CBA to turn fully green by 2030

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Original article by Mark Ludlow
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 14-Nov-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia aims to source 65 per cent of its electricity requirements from renewable sources by 2019, with a target date of 2030 for becoming solely reliant on renewables. As part of this strategy, CBA has secured a 12-year deal to source 96,000 megawatts annually from the Sapphire wind farm. CBA estimates that its direct emissions have been cut by 54 per cent since 2009. The bank will also become the first Australian company to join the global RE100 initiative, whose members have agreed to fully transition to renewables by 2050.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, RE100, CWP RENEWABLES, PARTNERS GROUP AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE CLIMATE GROUP, CDP, SONY CORPORATION, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS, LYFT INCORPORATED, INTERNATIONAL ENERGY AGENCY

Banks pledge to lend but with caveats

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 12-Nov-18

Australia’s major banks have urged the financial services royal commission not to over-regulate the way in which they assess corporate borrowers. The banks state that this would make it harder to increase their lending to small and medium enterprises. Their urgings have come as federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg called upon the banks to "keep open the books", while National Australia Bank executive Anthony Healy says the bank is more willing to lend to SMEs without proper security.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC

CBA vows to repair brand at fiery AGM

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 21 : 8-Nov-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s remuneration report was passed by a majority of votes cast at its 2018 AGM, with a dissenting vote of just six per cent. CBA chair Catherine Livingstone told shareholders that the bank will undertake a "systematic overhaul" of its compliance and governance structures in the wake of a series of scandals and the misconduct exposed by the banking royal commission. CEO Matt Comyn said the bank is also taking heed of feedback after he wrote to eight million customers in September.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA