CONSUMER CREDIT – AUSTRALIA

Rapid growth in use of Buy-Now-Pay-Later digital payments – such as Afterpay, zipPay and zipMoney

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 5-Nov-19

New research from Roy Morgan shows that 1.95 million Australians aged 14+ used one of the latest ‘buy-now-pay-later’ digital payment methods such as Afterpay, zipPay or zipMoney in the year to September 2019, up from 1.38 million in the previous 12 months. Australians between the ages of 14-34 account for 55.9% of ‘buy-now-pay-later’ users, with those in the 25-34 age range making up 33.5% of all users. To put this in perspective, that age group represents only 18.1% of the population aged 14+, which means that those aged 25-34 are nearly twice as likely to be using a ‘buy-now-pay-later’ system as the average across the whole population. By contrast, Australians over 50 make up only 14.2% of pay-later users despite being 40.7% of the population aged 14+. Meanwhile, the use of credit cards is declining, with the percentage of Australians holding a credit card down about 3% points over the past year. This data is from Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey, based on in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face with around 50,000 consumers each year in their homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AFTERPAY TOUCH GROUP LIMITED – ASX APT, ZIPPAY, ZIPMONEY

Major banks hit as credit growth stalls

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 17 & 28 : 1-Oct-19

Official data shows that annual growth in credit fell to an eight-year low of 2.9 per cent in the year to August, after rising by just 0.2 per for the month. Housing credit and business credit also increased by 0.2 per cent in August, with growth of 3.1 per cent and 3.4 per cent respectively for the year to August. Ed Henning of CLSA anticipates a slight improvement in credit growth in coming months, although Chris Read of Morgan Stanley says credit growth is unlikely to rebound in the near-term unless there is an upturn in housing turnover as well as prices.

CORPORATES
CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, SWITZER ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED, MST MARQUEE, 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, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Over 1.5 million users of Buy-Now-Pay-Later digital payments

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 19-Mar-19

Roy Morgan’s ‘Digital Payment Solutions Currency Report’ January 2019 shows that 1.59 million Australians aged +14 used a ‘buy-now-pay-later’ digital payment method in the last 12 months. Millennials accounted for 40.6% of ‘buy-now-pay-later’ users in the year to January 2019, followed by Gen Z (35.1%). These two generations combined account for 75.7% of the market, or 1.2 million consumers. The two oldest generations (baby boomers and pre-boomers) make very little use of the new ‘buy-now-pay-later’ systems, with a combined market share of only 5.2% (83,000). The report also shows that awareness of these new payment methods is a healthy 42.9%, well ahead of the overall usage levels of 7.7%. Afterpay had 39.9% awareness and 6.9% usage over the last 12 months, well ahead of zipPay with 19.0% awareness and 1.6% usage. The data from this report is from Roy Morgan’s Single Source survey, which is based on in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 consumers per annum in their homes.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, AFTERPAY TOUCH GROUP LIMITED – ASX APT, ZIPPAY

Payday lenders to face probe

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 18-Oct-18

The Senate will undertake an inquiry into payday lenders and short-term credit providers after the proposed probe was backed by the Greens and Centre Alliance. Payday lenders and so-called "buy now, pay later" credit providers were excluded from the financial services royal commission’s terms of reference. Shares in Afterpay Touch Group, Zip Co and Cash Converters fell sharply in response to news of the inquiry.

CORPORATES
AFTERPAY TOUCH GROUP LIMITED – ASX APT, ZIP CO LIMITED – ASX Z1P, CASH CONVERTERS INTERNATIONAL – ASX CCV, CREDIT CORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX CCP, AUSTRALIA. SENATE STANDING COMMITTEE ON ECONOMICS, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, CENTRE ALLIANCE, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, THORN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TGA, RADIO RENTALS, NIMBLE PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY

RBA flags risk of record household debt

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Original article by David Uren
The Australian – Page: 2 : 18-Jul-18

The minutes of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s board meeting for July indicate that although the central bank expects to begin tightening monetary policy, it is in no hurry to do so. The minutes also show that high levels of household debt continues to be a concern for the central bank. It noted that while an increase in the cash rate could be expected to reduce consumer spending, the high level of debt means a rate cut may not necessarily result in increased spending.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ASIC calls for crackdown on card sharks

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 19 & 22 : 4-Jul-18

A review of the credit card industry by the Australian Securities & Investment Commission has found that many consumers are finding it hard to repay their debt. ASIC deputy chair Peter Kell says relatively few card issuers actively take action to address such problems. In addition to being in arrears, many consumers have been issued with credit cards that are inappropriate for their needs. ASIC has proposed new rules whereby a consumer’s credit card debt would be restricted to their capacity to repay it within three years.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CITIGROUP PTY LTD, LATITUDE GROUP, AMERICAN EXERGEN CORPORATION, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Labor credit report delay will entrench banks: Fintechs

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 15-Jun-18

The CEOs of five financial technology lenders have urged shadow treasurer Chris Bowen to reconsider Labor’s push for a key part of the comprehensive credit reporting regime to be delayed for 12 months. The CCR regulations are slated to take effect on 1 July, but Labor has advocated deferring the reporting of repayment history information for a year. The CEOs of SocietyOne, RateSetter, MoneyPlace, Harmoney and WISR have warned that such a delay will allow the major banks to retain their competitive advantage.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SOCIETYONE AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RATESETTER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, MONEYPLACE PTY LTD, HARMONEY LIMITED, WISR LIMITED – ASX WZR

Debt binge stifles jobs and growth: IMF

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 4-Oct-17

The International Monetary Fund has warned that policies which encourage consumers to increase their debt in the near-term have a negative effect on economic growth in the longer term. The IMF’s modelling concludes that a five per cent increase in the household debt-to-GDP ratio results in a 1.25 per cent fall in real GDP three years later. Australia’s household debt-to-income ratio now exceeds 190 per cent.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

RBA keeping close eye on home owners

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Age – Page: 23 : 27-Sep-17

The Reserve Bank’s assistant governor for the financial system, Michele Bullock, says the central bank is closely monitoring the high levels of household debt. She has warned that mortgage borrowers who have capitalised on historically low interest rates would be especially vulnerable to any "economic shock". Bullock adds that consumer spending may be affected when interest rates begin to rise. She also notes that measures aimed at restricting growth in higher-risk mortgage lending have made the banking system less vulnerable to a financial shock.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

Wage growth is economy’s Achilles heel, warns Moody’s

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 24-Aug-17

Ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service has maintained its stable outlook for Australia’s triple-A credit rating. However, Moody’s says factors such as low growth in wages and rising household debt – which now comprises 123.1 per cent of GDP – represent key risks to the economy. Meanwhile, Moody’s has forecast that state and federal government debt will increase to 42 per cent of GDP in 2017-18, while the firm has questioned whether the Federal Government will be able to limit growth in expenditure over the Budget forward estimates period.

CORPORATES
MOODY’S INVESTORS SERVICE INCORPORATED