DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION – AUSTRALIA

Glencore: AFR must remove articles

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Original article by Neil Chenoweth
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 11-Oct-18

Lawyers acting on behalf of Glencore have asked Fairfax Media to remove documents from its website which are claimed to be subject to legal privilege. The documents in question are associated with an article published by the "Australian Financial Review" with regard to Glencore’s restructuring of its Australian division in 2014, which is under scrutiny by the Australian Taxation Office. Fairfax has rejected suggestions that it has infringed on the miner’s legal rights.

CORPORATES
FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, GLENCORE PLC, KING AND WOOD MALLESONS, AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, INTERNATIONAL CONSORTIUM OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISTS, AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING CORPORATION, BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION

Hayne to lift lid on bank confessions

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 19 & 23 : 3-Oct-18

The financial services royal commission has selectively released information on the admissions of misconduct by the major banks. Commissioner Kenneth Hayne requested the information in early 2018, and a spokesman for the inquiry has downplayed suggestions that it may shortly release the banks’ full submissions. Industry sources have indicated that the potential for class actions against the banks will increase if the so-called "confession statements" are fully disclosed.

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, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, CLAYTON UTZ, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Suppliers revolt over Woolies’ plan to cut data

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 19 : 1-Oct-18

Woolworths will make changes to the sales data it provides to suppliers as from 2019. The retailer states the data will be of a much broader nature, with intellectual property and competitive information being protected from being shared with rival companies. However, suppliers have expressed concern about the proposed changes, stating that not having access to specific sales data will leave them "defenceless" if Woolworths decides to stop stocking their products. They are also concerned that Woolworth’s private label brands will benefit from the changes.

CORPORATES
WOOLWORTHS GROUP LIMITED – ASX WOW, AUSTRALIAN FOOD AND GROCERY COUNCIL

CBA to disclose fees to borrowers

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 31-Aug-18

Morgan Stanley estimates that about 43 per cent of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s home loans are sold via its network of mortgage brokers. CBA has advised that from now on its home loan customers will be fully informed as to how much brokers receive in commissions. The bank had previously not done so, telling the banking royal commission earlier in 2018 that the size of such commissions cannot be accurately calculated. CBA’s new disclosure standards will cover both upfront and trailing commissions.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMBINED INDUSTRY FORUM

NAB admits to breaking law once a week

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 10 : 15-Aug-18

A document released by the banking royal commission show that National Australia Bank breached the terms of its financial services licence a total of 297 times between 2014 and 2017. Some 110 of these breaches were deemed to be serious, yet the majority of them were not reported to the corporate regulator within 10 days. The document also shows that 84 per cent of the significant breaches that were not reported within the required time-frame occurred during the 2014-15 financial year.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS AUSTRALIA (INTERNATIONAL) PTY LTD

NAB hid compo from ASIC

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Original article by Ben Butler, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 14-Aug-18

National Australia Bank’s Andrew Hagger has denied allegations that it withheld information on compensation payments from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission. He told the banking royal commission that he had been "open and transparent" with ASIC commissioner Greg Tanzer in a telephone conversation on 24 October 2016, several hours after NAB’s wealth unit passed a resolution to increase compensation over its plan service fee. NAB released its financial results three days later, the same day on which ASIC released a report on the fees-for-no-service scandal.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, NATIONAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED, NULIS NOMINEES AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Law firm hits CBA with class action suit

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Original article by Cliona O’Dowd
The Australian – Page: 20 : 3-Jul-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia faces another class action over its money-laundering scandal. Law firm Phi Finney McDonald has filed a lawsuit on behalf of investors who bought CBA shares between 16 June 2014 and 3August 2017. The firm alleges that CBA’s failure to inform the market about the scandal constituted a breach of its disclosure requirements. The class action will allege that investors incurred loss and damage due to the bank’s inaction.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, PHI FINNEY McDONALD PTY LTD, THERIUM PTY LTD, CALIFORNIA STATE TEACHERS’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM, TEACHERS’ RETIREMENT SYSTEM OF TEXAS, MASSACHUSETTS PENSION RESERVES INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT BOARD, COLORADO PUBLIC EMPLOYEES’ RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, IMF BENTHAM LIMITED – ASX IMF

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

JB Hi-Fi stays firm on outlook

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Original article by Eli Greenblat
The Australian – Page: 26 : 8-May-18

Australian-listed JB Hi-Fi has defended its decision to include a profit warning in a presentation to the recent Macquarie Australia Conference rather than issuing a statement to the stock exchange. Responding to a query from stock exchange operator ASX Limited, the consumer electronics retailer said it had been of the view that the information in the presentation would not have a material effect on its share price. JB Hi-Fi’s shares fell by more than 10 per cent following the presentation.

CORPORATES
JB HI-FI LIMITED – ASX JBH, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, ALPHINITY INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT PTY LTD, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

Westpac reveals tough move against liar loans

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 34 : 12-Apr-18

Westpac will introduce stricter disclosure criteria for people seeking a home loan from mid-April. Amongst other things, mortgage applications will be required to provide more extensive information on their expenditure in order to qualify for a loan. The move is aimed at cracking down on so-called "liar loans". Independent analysis suggests that about 20 per cent of mortgage applications overstate their income and almost 50 per cent understate their expenditure.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, EQUIFAX INCORPORATED, EXPERIAN AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, ILLION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY