ETC – AUSTRALIA

Female pay gap exposes unions

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Original article by Samantha Hutchinson
The Australian – Page: 1 & 10 : 28-Sep-18

The Menzies Research Centre’s analysis of the salary disclosures of 11 large trade unions in Australia shows that senior male officials were paid an average of $199,580 in 2017-18. In contrast, the average salary of the top female officials was just $162,669. The gender pay gap for the unions’ top five positions was 20.38 per cent in 2017-18. John Slater of the Menzies Research Centre says the union gender pay gap supports other data which suggests that many women are reluctant to take up jobs with high salaries but long and unpredictable hours of work.

CORPORATES
THE MENZIES RESEARCH CENTRE LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. REGISTERED ORGANISATIONS COMMISSION, GRATTAN INSTITUTE, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, ACTU, CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY, MARITIME, MINING AND ENERGY UNION OF AUSTRALIA, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA

Thorburn faces $1m pay cut in NAB overhaul

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Original article by James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 20 : 20-Sep-18

National Australia Bank will disclose more details of its revised executive pay structure when its annual remuneration report is released in November. Amongst other things, NAB will no longer take into account total shareholder return when determining executive bonuses, although return on equity will continue to be a key metric. NAB chairman Ken Henry says the new pay scheme is aimed at more closely aligning executive remuneration to customer service. CEO Andrew Thorburn is among the executives to be affected by the new remuneration policy.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Legal test looms over Qantas’ bonus bribes

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Original article by Patrick Hatch
The Age – Page: 21 : 18-Sep-18

The Fair Work Commission may be asked to rule on the validity of its cash performance bonus scheme. The airline’s employees will be eligible for a cash bonus of $2,000 provided they sign a new enterprise bargaining agreement. Unions have expressed concern about a provision of the scheme which excludes all employees in a work group from receiving the bonus if one or more of them engages in conduct that causes harm to the airline. Unions believe that this may breach workplace laws, as the "harm" caused could potentially be interpreted to include protected industrial action.

CORPORATES
QANTAS AIRWAYS LIMITED – ASX QAN, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, UNIVERSITY OF ADELAIDE

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’s fee strategy in spotlight

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 7-Aug-18

The banking royal commission has been told that National Australia Bank retained "grandfathered" commissions after merging five separate superannuation funds in 2016. A former NAB executive, Paul Carter, told the inquiry that the bank had been concerned about the impact that abolishing the commissions would have on revenue, as financial planners could potentially have responded to the move by directing clients to other products. The inquiry was also told that NAB failed to inform clients that they could opt out of paying a "plan service fee".

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, MLC LIMITED, MLC MASTERKEY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, NULIS

No more low-doc lending, CBA says

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Original article by Anthony Klan
The Australian – Page: 6 : 5-Jul-18

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has advised that it will cease issuing low-documentation mortgage loans. These products have come under scrutiny amid revelations that mortgage brokers have falsified clients’ income in order to write loans. Low-documentation loans now account for 1.8 per cent of mortgage loans, compared with 7.6 per cent in 2010. CBA also intends to shift from a volume-based remuneration system for mortgage brokers rather than one based on the value of loans written.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Macquarie exits trailing commissions

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Original article by James Kirby
The Australian – Page: 22 : 4-Jul-18

Macquarie Group’s decision to scrap trailing commissions for financial advisers has been welcomed by Bernie Ripoli, who played a key role in the Future of Financial Advice reforms. However, so-called grandfathered commissions are still widely used in the financial services sector four years after the FoFA reforms. There is speculation that the banking royal commission will recommend the abolition of trailing commissions. Ripoli says other banks could potentially opt to voluntarily scrap them.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, SAS GROUP CONSULTING

New Telstra deal to help retiring types

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Original article by Darren Davidson
The Australian – Page: 30 : 5-Jun-18

Fifty current Australian Football League players will become Telstra Ambassadors under a new agreement with the telco. Telstra and the AFL will produce exclusive digital content based around the selected players, with the aim of encourage fans to engage with the AFL throughout the year. The deal will also benefit all AFL players via an increased contribution to their retirement scheme. Telstra, Seven Network and Fox Sports paid $A2.508bn in a six-year deal for AFL broadcasting rights in 2015.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE, TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED – ASX TLS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE PLAYERS’ ASSOCIATION, SEVEN NETWORK LIMITED, SEVEN WEST MEDIA LIMITED – ASX SWM, FOX SPORTS AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, THE NIELSEN COMPANY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD

Two banks warn of big payouts if grandfathered deal ends

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Original article by Joanna Mather
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 18 : 28-May-18

Certain commissions paid to financial advisers were banned as part of the Future of Financial Advice reforms in 2013. However, other types of commissions were "grandfathered". Michael Wright of Westpac subsidiary BT Financial Group has told the banking royal commission that grandfathered commissions should also be banned, but the ANZ Bank and AMP disagree. They have suggested that the federal government might have to pay compensation to advisers if grandfathered commissions were banned, while they have also suggested that a ban could be in breach of the Constitution.

CORPORATES
BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Fourth bid for AMP class action

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 19 : 15-May-18

Maurice Blackburn is the latest law firm to propose launching a class action against wealth manager AMP in response to the scandals exposed by the banking royal commission. Phi Finney McDonald and Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan have filed class action lawsuits to date, while Slater & Gordon has also flagged possible legal action on behalf of AMP shareholders. Andrew Watson of Maurice Blackburn stresses factors other than the lowest commission rate will determine which class action is allowed to proceed.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, PHI FINNEY MCDONALD PTY LTD, QUINN EMANUEL URQUHART AND SULLIVAN LP, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION FUNDING PARTNERS INCORPORATED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, SUPREME COURT OF NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, IMF BENTHAM LIMITED – ASX IMF