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What the analysts are saying: lower funding costs with help earnings
Lower funding costs in the wholesale and retail market may lift profits for major banks by as much as three per cent compared with recent estimates, new estimates prepared by RBS Equities (Australia) show. Andrew Lyons and John Buonaccorsi, analysts at RBS Equities, published research last week ... MoreNew Customers Ltd CEO must win over sceptical investors 
ATM network operator Customers Limited has appointed John Russell as chief executive. This will be the first CEO-level job for Russell, who has been head of strategy at AWB for the past four years, and possibly his first job in the payments arena.
Previously, Russell held management positions at ... More
Analysts rate Westpac a buy
Sell-side analysts believe Westpac stock has been over-sold in response to the bank's disappointing December quarter performance. Reports from JP Morgan, UBS and Macquarie Securities all argue Westpac will not repeat this performance and is now cheap relative to its peers. Each of the three now ... MoreATM fleet operators, Customers and GRG International, are doing it tough
Around four per cent of the profit of automatic teller machine operator Customers Limited may be at risk as curbs on access to cash at gambling venues begin to bite from the middle of this year. The firm, which operates the largest fleet of ATMs in Australia, hopes to limit the impact on profit to ... More
The Rock Building Society proves a handy buy for MyState Financial
The Rock Building Society may prove a handy acquisition for MyState Financial, with the former producing a net profit of A$6.2 million in the December 2011 half-year, three times the level of profit reported by The Rock in either of the corresponding halves in 2009 and 2010.
This improvement is ... More
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank results soft and outlook for continuing weakness
With a lacklustre, but well telegraphed, half-yearly profit to announce last week, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's chief executive, Mike Hirst, used the regular briefing to reflect on some of the key debates in banking - and to explain why the bank lifted home-loan interest rates by more than any ... More
By Ian Rogers and John Kavanagh
Published on Monday, 27 February, 2012
Filed under Bendigo and Adelaide, analysts
Suncorp Bank has funding under control
One bank with few worries over conditions in the wholesale financial markets is Suncorp Bank. It has a deposit-to-loan ratio of 69.4 per cent – all its lending is matched by retail deposit flows and its requirement for term funding this year will be just A$2 billion.
Suncorp reported last week ... More
Mortgage Choice struggles with diversification
Loan broker franchise operator Mortgage Choice has suffered a setback in its strategy of diversifying its business. A sharp increase in expenses related to new initiatives and marketing was not matched by increased revenue in the December 2011 half year.
Last week, the company reported a cash net ... More
No rush for bank hybrids by retail investors
Hybrid fixed-interest securities marketed by three banks and one industrial company over the last week or two have failed to generate the scale of investor demand sometimes associated with such issues, at least in the case of those promoted by the banks. Last week, ANZ and Westpac, and then ... MoreCBA take control of its loan pricing
Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ian Narev confirmed that prior to the bank's decision to raise home loan interest rates it was writing mortgages at a loss. Narev said the bank's move this month to increase variable home-loan rates by 10 basis points will only recover part of the cost increase ... More
By John Kavanagh
Published on Monday, 20 February, 2012
Filed under CBA, results, outlook, home lending, funding
