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Basel III liquidity targets may be diluted 
International industry lobbying for a watering down of the liquidity targets proposed for banks may be successful, with both rumoured and confirmed evidence of a change of heart on the part of regulators.
The Wall Street Journal reported that regulators may allow banks to count gold and some ... More
Banks get no growth from fee income
With banks' funding costs rising since late last year and demand for credit subdued, investors cannot expect to see much growth in net interest income this year. And now any hope that the banks might be able to generate some earnings growth through higher non-interest income has been dashed by ... More
What the analysts are saying: UBS says look behind the cash earnings facade
UBS banking analyst Jonathon Mott has challenged the major banks' over-use of below-the-line items in their financial reports, arguing that the practice overstates the banks’ true earnings picture. The banks make adjustments to their statutory net profit, taking items below the line and referring ... MoreNAB culls business bankers as business customer satisfaction falls
National Australia Bank is cutting the number of business bankers on its payroll and steering customers towards call centres for help instead.
Over the last week, customers of NAB have received letters signed by Cindy Batchelor, the bank's head of small business banking, advising them of the ... More
Parochial Asian regulators inhibit ANZ's options
Prescriptive regulations regarding data sovereignty and privacy in Indonesia, Singapore and China are influencing ANZ's technology plans as it executes its super-regional banking strategy.
Leslie Howatt, ANZ's head of technology for institutional Australia, said there were a number of "puzzles" ... More
What the analysts are saying: asset re-pricing will boost banks' second half
Mortgage and other loan re-pricing will add about seven basis points to margins in the September half, according to Deutsche Bank analyst James Freeman. A Deutsche review of the sector, published last week, includes a forecast for a much stronger September half for the major banks. Margins were ... MoreANZ aims to be a Top Four international bank in Asia
The multiplying challenges of managing ANZ's ambitions for expansion in Asia were sketched out in a presentation last week to coincide with a tour by management and select investment analysts of the bank's operations in Singapore and Jakarta.
ANZ even dug up a few nuggets of data on its costs, ... More
Small caps: FlexiGroup's Lombard acquisition wins support
Finance company FlexiGroup is making a big push into the point-of-sale, interest-free finance segment with the purchase of Lombard Finance.
FlexiGroup announced late in May that it had entered into an agreement to acquire Lombard for A$10 million. The purchase price represents five times ... More
By John Kavanagh
Published on Tuesday, 12 June, 2012
Filed under small institutions, analysts, Specialist finance
What the analysts are saying: business lending recovery will lift banks
Sell-side analysts have taken a more positive view of the business credit market following the release of the latest lending data. Business credit, reported by the Reserve Bank, rose by 0.3 per cent in February and increased by 0.7 per cent in both March and April, lifting annual growth to 2.3 ... More
By John Kavanagh
Published on Tuesday, 12 June, 2012
Filed under analysts, ANZ, CBA, NAB, Westpac, Suncorp, Bendigo and Adelaide, BoQ, business lending
