GOVERNMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS – AUSTRALIA

AMP admits dirty deeds and deceptions

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 18-Apr-18

Shares in AMP fell sharply on 17 April after the banking royal commission heard further revelations of misconduct. Jack Regan, AMP’s head of financial advice, told the inquiry of multiple instance in which AMP had misled the Australian Securities & Investments Commission with regard to an investigation into a financial planning scandal. Amongst other things, the inquiry was told that AMP had falsely informed clients that they had been overcharged. Regan also said AMP’s relationship with Clayton Utz raised questions about the impartiality of the law firm’s investigation into the scandal.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, CLAYTON UTZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET

Builders a sitting duck as banking royal commission comes hurtling down the track

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Original article by Robert Gottliebsen
The Australian – Page: 28 : 17-Apr-18

Australia’s builders and property developers do not seem to realise the potential impact that the banking royal commission could have on their business. They seem unaware that one of the commission’s areas of focus is on banks that having been making loans to home buyers on the basis of living expense estimates that are flawed, and that a clampdown on this practice could reduce the number of mortgage loans being issued by banks. Developers and builders could be hit hard by this, and some could potentially collapse as a result.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION

AMP admits to misleading ASIC 10 times

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Original article by Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 17-Apr-18

AMP confessed to the banking royal commission on 16 April that it had misled the Australian Securities & Investments Commission on at least 10 occasions. Its deception related to a scheme that saw numerous customers charged fees for services they did not receive. With financial planning being the focus of the banking royal commission’s second round of public hearings, ASIC deputy chair Peter Kell said that in his opinion financial planners should not be able to refer to themselves as professionals, such has been their poor behaviour in recent years.

CORPORATES
AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, STORM FINANCIAL LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA

Banks discuss new standards council option

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Original article by James Frost, James Eyers
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 16-Apr-18

The second week of the banking royal commission’s public hearings will commence on 16 April, with financial planning to be the initial focus. AMP executive Anthony Jack Regan and Australian Securities & Investments Commission deputy chairman Peter Kell are both expected to appear before the commission on 16 April. Meanwhile, talks involving the formation of a Professional Banking Council are continuing, with banks, regulators and industry associations involved in the discussions.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, FINANCIAL SERVICES INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALASIA, AUSTRALIAN BANKERS’ ASSOCIATION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY

Inquiry can be a circuit breaker

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Original article by David Rogers, Ben Butler
The Australian – Page: 17 & 26 : 10-Apr-18

Former Westpac CEO David Morgan says he is unsure whether the bonus schemes used by banks deliver high levels of integrity. Morgan values the importance of a productive workplace culture that is combined with high integrity. He thinks the financial services royal commission could act as a "circuit breaker" for the banks in improving their reputations in the wake of a series of scandals. The wealth management arms of the big four banks will come under the commission’s scrutiny when it begins its next round of hearings in the week beginning 16 April.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Banks betting on AI to win back trust

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Original article by Yolanda Redrup
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 9-Apr-18

IBM executive Marc Andrews believes that Australia’s banks will be looking to make use of artificial intelligence to help restore their corporate image in the wake of the banking royal commission. IBM’s work with banks in the area of AI has focused on a number of key areas, including regulatory compliance and anti-money laundering strategies. Andrews says other areas where banks can make use of AI include helping to prevent bullying, sexism and discrimination in their workplaces, and in the identification of poor culture within teams.

CORPORATES
IBM CORPORATION, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE

CBA captured 40pc of Aussie mortgages

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 17 : 4-Apr-18

Data supplied to the banking royal commission shows that a significant proportion of home loans sold by Aussie Home Loans in 2015 were those offered by its parent company, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Up to 39.7 per cent of the mortgages that Aussie Home Loans sold by volume in 2015 were from brands owned by the bank, including Bankwest and Aussie Select. Likewise, 37.5 per cent of mortgage loans sold by value were from CBA-owned brands. A key issue for the royal commission has been whether mortgage brokers are acting in the interests of their customers or the banks.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSSIE HOME LOANS LIMITED, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, BANK OF WESTERN AUSTRALIA LIMITED, AUSSIE SELECT

AMP and ASIC added to banking royal commission hit list

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 : 4-Apr-18

Financial advice will be the focus of the banking royal commission’s second round of public hearings, which will commence on 9 April. While the four major banks are likely to attract further scrutiny, AMP and its subsidiaries have also been asked to appear before the inquiry, along with officials from the Australian Securities & Investments Commission and industry bodies such as the Financial Planning Association of Australia and the Association of Financial Advisers.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FINANCIAL PLANNING ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, ASSOCIATION OF FINANCIAL ADVISERS LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, COMMONWEALTH FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED, COUNT FINANCIAL LIMITED, DOVER GROUP, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RI ADVICE GROUP PTY LTD, MILLENNIUM 3 PTY LTD, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, BT FINANCIAL GROUP PTY LTD, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB

Credit card debt to take 138 years to pay

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 23-Mar-18

Commonwealth Bank executive Clive van Horen has conceded that the bank erred in the case of problem gambler David Harris. Harris has told a public hearing of the banking royal commission how the bank had continued to give him credit cards and had extended his credit limit even though he had admitted to being a problem gambler. Van Horen told the commission that the bank has since tightened its rules in relation to giving credit to customers who appear to have gambling problems.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Uber, Airbnb, Deliveroo urge labour law shake-up

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Original article by Patrick Durkin, David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 16 : 20-Mar-18

The Senate inquiry into the future of work has received more than 140 submissions, with sharing-economy businesses arguing that existing workplace laws are outdated. Deliveroo has used its submission to propose the creation of a new category of employment for people who work in the "gig economy", noting that regulations governing casual employees are not compatible with its business model. Meanwhile, Google has stressed the need to retrain up to 3.5 million workers whose jobs may be at risk due to digital disruption.

CORPORATES
DELIVEROO, GOOGLE INCORPORATED, UBER AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AIRBNB AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, SEEK LIMITED – ASX SEK, CENTRE FOR FUTURE WORK, FOODORA, AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK OMBUDSMAN, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, ATLASSIAN CORPORATION PLC