The recent announcement that Westpac is “reviewing” ownership of its New Zealand business caused some speculation the decision might be due to the bank’s lower profitability. But this would be unlikely grounds for a sale, and was more a consequence of COVID-19’s impact than anything.
In fact, Westpac’s New Zealand profits should be considerably higher this year close to NZ$1 billion, as opposed to the $550 million in the previous year (to September 30 2020). Based on past experience, a sale price of $10 billion (AU$9 billion) would not be unreasonable, possibly even higher.
More likely, the proposed sale is due to the complex and conflicting regulatory requirements of the Australian and New Zealand banking supervisors. We saw this in the decision of the New Zealand supervisor, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ), to require banks to be positioned for “open bank resolution” (OBR).
ING customers hit by April Foolâs Day mortgage rate bungle
Apr 6, 2021 â 4.11pm
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ING Australia is scrambling to fix a serious systems error that caused an unknown number of customers to be overcharged an unquantified amount for mortgage payments and which began on April Foolâs Day.
Customers of Australiaâs sixth-largest property lender were slugged with interest rates about 70 basis points higher than they should have been as the four-day Easter weekend break loomed.
Regulators have been cracking down on institutions that charge customers the wrong fees or rates.Â
âPhil Carrick
The errors are understood to be contained to the bankâs Orange Advantage mortgage product, which includes an offset account. Customers who logged into their accounts when the problem emerged could also see the incorrect rate that had been applied in addition to being overcharged.
What five super titans say about Your Future, Your Super reforms
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One of the largest government reform packages to the superannuation system will be debated in federal Parliament this week. The policy, first mooted in last year’s budget, has been the subject of fierce debate ever since.
Among the most controversial aspects of the Your Future, Your Super bill are a performance test that bans under-performing super funds from accepting new members, a “stapling” measure that ties workers to one fund for life and a ramped up “best-interest test,” which aims to ensure funds are not unwisely spending your retirement savings.
PNG’s largest bank to list on the Australian Stock Exchange PNG’s largest bank to list on the Australian Stock Exchange Apr 06, 2021
Analysts say the float may be worth at least $US 750 million, but Fleming has told
Islands Business that the bank ‘does not intend raising new equity capital on listing date”.
A special AGM approved the listing late March, including changing the name of the company to BSP Financial Group Limited, although the bank will continue trading across the region as BSP. He says companies could not be registered in Australia with the word “bank” as part of its company name unless they were regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA), which BSP would not be as it will not operate as a bank in Australia.
Rate rise a risk to asset prices, IMF warns
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The International Monetary Fund warns that a rebound in interest rates in the United States could cause a âdisorderlyâ unwinding of inflated global asset prices â such as Australian housing.
The IMF said there was a disconnect between pandemic-hit economies and asset markets âpowering aheadâ around the world, while central banks anchored borrowing costs at record lows.
To tackle the vulnerabilities lurking in asset markets across the world, financial authorities should prepare to deploy non-interest-rate regulatory tools to cool asset prices and reduce financial risks, the IMF advised in its latest