BANKS AND BANKING – AUSTRALIA

Westpac takes knife to transaction fees

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 11-Oct-17

Westpac has revised its fees and charges for legacy products that pre-date online banking and reflect an era when most transactions were made in bank branches. Amongst other things, all personal transaction accounts will have a maximum account-keeping fee of $A5 a month, while Westpac will abolish transaction fees on all personal accounts. George Frazis, the head of consumer banking, says Westpac will make further changes to its fees and charges.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

CBA faces investor class action

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Oct-17

Andrew Watson of law firm Maurice Blackburn says its class action against the Commonwealth Bank could be the largest ever in Australia. The firm will seek compensation for retail and institutional investors who bought the bank’s shares between 1 July 2015 and 3 August 2017. The class action centres on the bank’s failure to make adequate disclosures regarding the money-laundering scandal. Austrac’s revelation that it was investigating the bank prompted a sharp fall in its share price.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, IMF BENTHAM LIMITED – ASX IMF

NAB simplifies its small business lending contracts

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 19 : 6-Oct-17

National Australia Bank has advised that its standard contract for small business loans has been streamlined to make it "simple, fairer and more transparent". The number of clauses in the standard contract has been reduced from 24 to just 17, while it includes a summary of key terms in plain English. The new contracts will apply to about 98.7 per cent of the bank’s business customers. The move to simplify small business lending contracts follows criticism of the banking sector’s existing contracts by small business ombudsman Kate Carnell earlier in 2017.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. OFFICE OF THE AUSTRALIAN SMALL BUSINESS AND FAMILY ENTERPRISE OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

Why Coppo says to buy banks now

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Original article by Philip Baker
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 30 : 6-Oct-17

Richard Coppleson of Bell Financial Group says investors should consider buying Australian bank stocks in October for their dividend yield. He says historical analysis shows that bank stocks have not posted gains during the month of October in just four years since 2000, and three of those occasions were due to the global financial crisis. He attributes the generally strong performance of bank stocks during October to the fact that they among the few stocks that trade ex-dividend in November.

CORPORATES
BELL FINANCIAL GROUP LIMITED – ASX BFG, 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, STANDARD AND POOR’S ASX 200 INDEX, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, LONG-TERM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Bendigo Bank has highest customer satisfaction among majors

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Original article by Roy Morgan Research
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 28-Sep-17

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey has found that customer satisfaction with Bendigo Bank in August 2017 was 89.3%, making it the top performer among the 10 largest consumer banks. Not only was Bendigo the satisfaction leader but it improved its rating over the month by 0.9% points, against an overall decline of 0.2% points for banks in total. Other small banks such as ING Direct with 86.7%, Bank of Queensland (84.2%), Suncorp (83.0%) and St George (82.0%) also had high customer satisfaction ratings. The best performer among the four majors was the CBA with 80.2%, followed by Westpac on 78.5%, NAB (78.4%) and ANZ (77.3%). The overall average satisfaction for all banks was 80.8% in August. Meanwhile, the mortgage customers of each of the big four banks continue to be a drag on their overall satisfaction, despite historically low home-loan rates.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN RESEARCH LIMITED, BENDIGO BANK, ING DIRECT, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, SUNCORP BANK, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ

Competition probe shakes ‘four pillars’

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 20-Sep-17

Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims says it has a "neutral" position on the issue of mergers between the nation’s four major banks. However, the ACCC has used its submission to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into competition in the financial system to urge it to examine the impact of the so-called "four pillars" policy. The ACCC has also asked the inquiry to consider whether the four pillars policy should be expanded to include smaller banks.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Fees underpin Macquarie profit

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 12-Sep-17

Macquarie Group has advised that its profit for the first half of 2017-18 will be higher than previously due to an increase in performance fees. However, the investment bank has told an investor roadshow that it expects full-year profit to be similar to its $A2.22bn result for 2016-17. Macquarie’s earnings profile has benefited from the group’s increased focus on annuity-style operations, while the group has also highlighted its risk management practices.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, DEUTSCHE BANK AG, THE GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INCORPORATED, HILL SAMUEL BANK

‘Liar loans’ pumped up house prices

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 12-Sep-17

UBS surveyed more than 900 Australian borrowers who had taken out a mortgage loan in the year to August 2017, finding that a third had not been truthful in terms of the information on their application. UBS states that the value of so-called "liar loans" is in excess of $A500 billion, and that these loans pose threats to both the banking sector and the overall economy. The ANZ Bank had the highest number of liar loans in the UBS survey, while respondents were most likely to have understated their expenses on their application.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED, MORTGAGE AND FINANCE ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

CBA eyes bond market return after scandal

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Original article by Jonathan Shapiro
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 15 : 11-Sep-17

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia may make a bond issue in the week beginning 11 September 2017. Australia’s large banks use such issues to help cover the gap between the amount of loans they have outstanding and the value of their deposits. If the CBA does proceed with the bond issue, it will be its first since AUSTRAC announced that it is taking legal action against it over alleged breaches of money-laundering regulations. The CBA raised around $A40 billion in fiscal 2017 from wholesale long-term debt.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, MOODY’S ANALYTICS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ALTIUS ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, SANTOS LIMITED – ASX STO, WOODSIDE PETROLEUM LIMITED – ASX WPL

Funder backs CBA class action

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 23 : 6-Sep-17

Listed litigation fund IMF Bentham has agreed to provide financial backing for a proposed shareholder class action against the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The major bank’s shares have shed more than 10 per cent since early August, when Austrac initiated legal action over the CBA’s failure to comply with money-laundering laws. The class action is being undertaken by law firm Maurice Blackburn, which estimates that CBA could face a potential payout of at least $A200m. CBA could also incur sanctions in other countries where it has a presence.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, IMF BENTHAM LIMITED – ASX IMF, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC