Industry News & Views
22 July 2008 - NAB panders to Wayne Swan
National Australia Bank is pandering to the government in launching a home loan with no early exit, discharge or settlement fees, says banking industry newsletter The Sheet. The Clear Banking Home Loan is a no-frills mortgage, answering the government's call to allow bank customers to more easily move from a product they are not happy with, without incurring penalty fees. The bank, though, did not address the important issue of existing customers locked into mortgage products with high break fees. In launching a product that appears to be taking a proactive step in addressing the government's request, NAB has not yet, however, made any move to reduce break fees on its other home loans. (And nor has any other lender.) The new loan, will attract an application fee of $600, with no monthly fees and available for loans from $80,000, available through the National network and brokers. The current standard variable of 9.61 per cent will apply. It appears that no rate discount, which is still standard on many loans, will apply. Exit fees of around $900 are charged on the existing National standard variable loan if exited before four years, with an additional $350 charge for settlement and discharge fees, varying depending on the package.
Source: The Sheet
22 July 2008 - New rules coming for banks
The asset quality of Australian banks remained strong said the chair of the banking regulator APRA, John Laker. APRA will stress test all authorised deposit taking institutions tis year to measure how they might cope with extreme adverse market conditions. The level of impaired assets now held by banks is trending up off a low base said Laker. A committee of bankers will draft new rules for banks regarding the amount of liquid assets they must hold.
Source: The Australian Financial Review
22 July 2008 - No fees and no rate discounts on new NAB loan
By foregoing interest rate discounts, borrowers can get a home loan with no monthly or exit fees. A new mortgage product from NAB charges the full standard variable rate, currently 9.61 per cent with no discounts. If the borrower chooses to switch banks or end the mortgage, there are no exit fees, potentially saving thousands of dollars. NAB CEO Ahmed Fahour said the days of paying for choice were coming to a close. The loan is suited to bridging and short term finance as well families looking for stability said the bank. Analysts said most borrowers get discounts off the standard variable rate of up to 0.7 per cent.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
22 July 2008 - Rumours circle BankWest
Commonwealth Bank is rumoured to be interested in buying BankWest as analysts speculate about HBOS selling the Perth based bank. HBOS has denied that the bank is for sale, but failed to fill a four billion pound right issue in London that was planned to inject capital into BankWest and other international businesses owned by HBOS. Just 8.29 per cent of the requested capital was raised from shareholders in what London reports label a disaster for HBOS.
Source: The Australian
21 July 2008 - Depositors get nine per cent return Depositors can get returns from high interest online savings accounts and term deposits right now as the banks turn to retail deposits amid ongoing credit market turmoil. BankWest regular saver offers nine per cent on small regular payments. The best term deposit rates in the market at the moment are 8.7 per cent for a deposit of $10,000 over a term of one year. "On a term deposit account there is typically no fees and charges," says Steven Anderson from Infochoice. The best rates on savings accounts available now are promotional introductory rates of up to 8.5 per cent. The best ongoing rates are in the region of 7.5 per cent.
Source: Herald Sun
21 July 2008 - Bopo card holders wait for funds
Cash deposits paid over the counter of newsagencies from the final day of trading onto the bopo pre- paid Visa card, on Tuesday, July 8, still are not available to card holders. Cuscal, as issuer of the card, is waiting for ANZ to clear funds from a trust account frozen by the administrator. Cuscal has now made funds frozen for more than a week that related to deposits after 3 July, now a reconciliation is complete.
Source: The Sheet
18 July 2008 - ANZ and NAB face most debt strife
Analysis by Citibank suggests ANZ and NAB have the greatest exposure to problem structured credit entities and also credit default swaps of banks in Australia. The investment bank speculates the two banks may have to raise additional provisions for losses. Citi estimated these additional provisions may range between $1 and $2 billion.
The Australian
18 July 2008 - Bank loans going bad
The ratio of bank assets on which borrowers have fallen behind on payments increased from 0.19 per cent at the end of December to 0.31 per cent at the end of March. The total level of bad debts jumped $3 billion to $7.3 billion in the three months. This is the largest surge in arrears since collection of this data by the Reserve Bank of Australia began in 1994.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
18 July 2008 - Bendigo and BOQ fall into line
Bank of Queensland increased the interest rate on its standard variable home loan by 18 basis points higher at 9.65 per cent. Bendigo Bank lifted its rate by 20 basis points to 9.65 per cent. Most larger lenders have now increased variable interest rates following the lead taken by St George and Commonwealth banks.
Source: The Age
18 July 2008 - Short selling OK by ASX
The Australian Securities Exchange allows "naked selling" on 320 stocks, including most major companies. The ASX revises the list each month. Naked selling refers to the practice of selling shares without having first borrowed the stock. Short selling of this form won't now be allowed in US securities markets as an interim measure.
Source: The Australian Financial Review
17 July 2008 - Aussies get richer despite share slide The average Australian is now worth about $250,000, up $21,000 or 7.9 per cent since last year says CommSec. Treasury figures released yesterday estimate total private wealth in Australia is a record $5318.1 billion at the end of March, up 2.3 per cent for the quarter. Australian's wealth has more than doubled over the past decade says CommSec. Property prices are believed to be more than making up for the slide in the sharemarket. Private sector debt rose by 2.6 per cent in the quarter to $585.3 billion. Per capita debt rose from $26,828 to $27,530. Debt levels have risen by 5.1 per cent over the past 12 months.
Source: The Age
17 July 2008 - Banks may not pass on rate cuts
Banks may not lower their interest rates even if the Reserve Bank lowers the official cash rate. NAB chief economist Alan Oster said that the UK experience of banks holding back rate cuts could be replicated in Australia. NAB said they held $580 million in bonds issued by troubled US mortgage securitisers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Source: The Australian
17 July 2008 - CBA not a St George buyer
Commonwealth Bank CEO refused to rule out placing a bid for the Australian arm of Dutch Bank ABN AMRO in a deal believed to be worth about $800 million. Ralph Norris did rule out making a rival bid for St George bank. The ACCC is expected to rule on the Westpac bid for St George by the end of the month.
Source: The Age
17 July 2008 - Next rates move could be down
After 12 official interest rate rises in a row, the governor of the Reserve Bank, Glenn Stevens, has hinted that the next move in official rates may be down. In a speech last night in Sydney, Mr Stevens said the bank did not necessarily have to wait for inflation to fall back within the target range of 2-3 per cent before rates were cut. CPI figures due out tomorrow are expected to show inflation running at 4 per cent. The Commonwealth Bank said that it may raise rates again, independent of any moves by the Reserve Bank.
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
16 July 2008 - Aussie prods apathetic borrowers
Aussie Home Loans is doing "better than market" its general manager marketing Stuart Tucker said yesterday. Aussie has launched a new ad campaign aimed at encouraging people to review their borrowing arrangements in consultation with a broker. Tucker said "Our research tells us that Australians are not active in reviewing their financial arrangements. Our campaign is designed to encourage people to think differently." Aussie is still writing good business Tucker said. "We have had strong inquiries. Our broker numbers are at their highest level for six months. We are doing better than market at the moment."
Source: The Sheet
16 July 2008 - GMAC exit underway, Capital First
GMAC-RFC has had to chip in a further $25 million to keep its Australian subsidiary solvent. The firm is already looking for a buyer for Capital First, the Parramatta-based mortgage manager GMAC acquired two years ago. Australian Broker reported the effort to sell the subsidiary this week. GMAC-RFC bought 25 per cent of Capital First in late 2005 and the remainder of the equity in mid 2006. The funder paid $3.8 million for the business, of which $3.4 million represented goodwill. At December 2007 GMAC utilised $289 million of a $750 million warehouse with Westpac. The firm cleaned out that warehouse in May through the sale of $300 million in mortgage-backed securities.
Source: The Sheet
16 July 2008 - House prices down in Queensland
There is anecdotal evidence of asset devaluation in some houses Suncorp managing director John Mulcahy said yesterday. "You'll find that there are people who are forced to sell, and that people are getting good deals." Mulcahy spoke to the newspaper following a business lunch in Brisbane.
Source: Courier Mail
16 July 2008 - Over Fifty Group quit reverse mortgage market
The reverse mortgage market is in retreat, with the fourth lender this year announcing that it is pulling back. Over Fifty Group yesterday said that it suspended reverse mortgage lending. OFG has a $230 million reverse mortgage book. So far this year Macquarie Bank has withdrawn its reverse mortgage, Silver Living, from the market and several Macquarie partners, such as Resi Mortgage Corp, have also withdrawn their rebadged offerings. Australian Seniors Finance stopped distribution through brokers and is now selling on a limited basis through direct and credit union partner channels. Bluestone took similar action.
Source: The Sheet
16 July 2008 - Westpac in step on rate rise
Westpac followed the lead of Commonwealth Bank and raised its variable interest rate by 14 basis points. The standard variable rate for Westpac now stands at 9.61 per cent. Some other banks have lifted rates by 20 basis points to 9.67 per cent.
Source: The Australian