FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY – AUSTRALIA

Fixed rates fall as banks chase loans

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Original article by Clancy Yeates
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 23-Nov-15

Data from RateCity shows that 11 Australian mortgage lenders have reduced their three-year fixed interest rates since early November 2015. Peter Arnold of RateCity notes that the majority of these lenders have passed on interest rate cuts to both owner-occupiers and property investors. Meanwhile, Jessica Darnbrough of Mortgage Choice says the number of customers opting for a fixed-interest loan fell to a four-year low of 13.9 per cent in October.

CORPORATES
RATECITY PTY LTD, MORTGAGE CHOICE LIMITED – ASX MOC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, RP DATA LIMITED

Bank GST for company tax cut plan

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Original article by Jacob Greber
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 4 : 9-Nov-15

The Parliamentary Budget Office estimates that the goods and services tax will generate revenue of $A18bn over the next four years. However, increasing the tax to 15 per cent and broadening its scope to include financial services could potentially lift revenue to around $A27bn over four years. This is one of the options that will be considered by the Federal Government, and has been advocated by South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. PARLIAMENTARY BUDGET OFFICE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PREMIER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, BUSINESS COUNCIL OF AUSTRALIA, INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

NAB does 10-year deal with Visa

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 2-Nov-15

National Australia Bank has terminated its alliance with MasterCard in favour of rival credit card provider Visa. The two groups will co-operate in the development of new payment solutions as the trend toward the use of mobile devices for making payments gathers pace. Australian banks are also holding talks with Google regarding the introduction of its Android Pay system.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, VISA INTERNATIONAL, MASTERCARD AUSTRALIA LIMITED, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, APPLE INCORPORATED, SAMSUNG CORPORATION, AMERICAN EXPRESS COMPANY

Link shares jump 11.5pc on ASX debut

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Original article by Sally Rose
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 & 22 : 28-Oct-15

Shares in superannuation administration services provider Link Group were issued at $A6.37 apiece in a $A946.5m IPO. The stock ended its first day of trading 11.5 per cent higher at $A7.05, after listing at $A7.10. Investors Mutual’s Anton Tagliaferro says Link was attractive to investors due to the limited growth opportunities in the domestic market at present. Meanwhile, Link CEO John McMurtrie has flagged offshore acquisitions to expand its footprint beyond Australia and New Zealand.

CORPORATES
LINK ADMINISTRATION HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX LNK, INVESTORS MUTUAL LIMITED, PACIFIC EQUITY PARTNERS PTY LTD, INTERMEDIATE CAPITAL GROUP PLC, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, SUPERPARTNERS (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, AUSTRALIANSUPER PTY LTD, PILLAR ADMINISTRATION, COLLINS FOODS LIMITED – ASX CKF, KFC, SIZZLER RESTAURANTS AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AMP LIFE LIMITED, JP MORGAN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT (AUSTRALIA) LIMITED, HSBC AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY LTD, CITICORP GROUP PTY LTD, MACQUARIE CAPITAL PTY LTD, DEUTSCHE BANK AG

IOOF slapped with class action

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Original article by Adele Ferguson, Sarah Danckert
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 29 : 8-Oct-15

Australian-listed financial services group IOOF Holdings faces a shareholder class action over claims that staff in its research department failed to comply with disclosure requirements. The legal action has been launched by law firm Maurice Blackburn with financial backing from UK-based Harbour Litigation Funding. The class action will be open to investors who bought IOOF shares between December 2013 and June 2015.

CORPORATES
IOOF HOLDINGS LIMITED – ASX IFL, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, HARBOUR LITIGATION FUNDING LIMITED, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FAIRFAX MEDIA LIMITED – ASX FXJ, LONSEC LIMITED, MORNINGSTAR PTY LTD

ACCC nods at a Macquarie-Esanda tilt

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 18-Sep-15

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has ruled that there would be little impact on competition if Macquarie Group acquires the Esanda dealer finance business from ANZ Bank. Macquarie is regarded as the frontrunner to buy the Esanda business, which is tipped to change hands for up to $A1.5bn. Analysts say Macquarie could opt for a capital raising to help finance the deal if its bid succeeds.

CORPORATES
MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG, ESANDA FINANCE CORPORATION LIMITED, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, SHAW AND PARTNERS LIMITED, CLSA AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, TOYOTA FINANCE AUSTRALIA LIMITED, NISSAN FINANCE

Big business will have to pay for ASIC

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 : 28-Aug-15

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission would be funded by a user-pays system under a plan proposed by the Federal Government. Big business, banks and the financial services sector would carry the biggest burden under the plan, with a maximum levy of $A320,000 a year on companies with a market capitalisation of more than $A15 billion. A discussion paper to be released by Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg sets a deadline of 9 October 2015 for submissions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, ASX LIMITED – ASX ASX, UNITED STATES. FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, SUNCORP GROUP LIMITED – ASX SUN, WESTFIELD CORPORATION – ASX WFD, TRANSURBAN GROUP LIMITED – ASX TCL, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, BRAMBLES LIMITED – ASX BXB, AMCOR LIMITED – ASX AMC

Court ruling may alter class actions

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Original article by Marianna Papadakis
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 32 : 7-Aug-15

International Litigation Funding Partners (ILFP) wants to finance the Allco Finance Group class action via a common fund arrangement. The Federal Court is scheduled to rule on the Singapore-based litigation funder’s application on 7 August 2015. John Emmerig, a partner at law firm Jones Day, expects a big increase in the volume of class actions and the amount of damages sought if ILFP’s application is granted.

CORPORATES
INTERNATIONAL LITIGATION FUNDING PARTNERS PTE LTD, ALLCO FINANCE GROUP LIMITED, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, HIGH COURT OF AUSTRALIA, SLATER AND GORDON LIMITED – ASX SGH, IMF BENTHAM LIMITED – ASX IMF, ALLENS, HERBERT SMITH FREEHILLS PTY LTD, UNIVERSITY OF NEW SOUTH WALES

Big banks make overtures to home buyers

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Original article by Duncan Hughes
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 48 : 6-Aug-15

Australian lenders are actively targeting the owner-occupier segment of the residential property market, due to new restriction on lending to property investors. Westpac-owned regional banks are offering a range of incentives for owner-occupiers, while some smaller lenders are reducing their loan-to-value ratios in a bid to gain market share from their larger peers.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, CAPITAL HOMELOANS PTY LTD, BLUEBAY HOME LOANS PTY LTD, LIBERTY FINANCIAL PTY LTD, MORTGAGE AND FINANCE ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA

Aussie banks ready for Apple Pay

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Original article by Shaun Drummond
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 17-Jul-15

Apple is believed to be seeking a 0.15 per cent share of banks’ credit card interchange fees when it launches the Apple Pay service in Australia. The mobile payments service was officially launched in the UK on 14 July 2015, and is being supported by most of that nation’s lenders. David Gunn of Bain & Company notes that Australian banks have considerable bargaining power as they have already made a major investment in contactless payment technology.

CORPORATES
APPLE INCORPORATED, BAIN AND COMPANY, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, VISA INTERNATIONAL, MASTERCARD AUSTRALIA LIMITED, PAYPAL INCORPORATED, WAL-MART STORES INCORPORATED, SAMSUNG CORNING COMPANY LIMITED, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA