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ANZ, Westpac and Colonial launch hybrid issues into the retail market
The market is crowded with hybrid bank issues, following Westpac's launch last week of an issue of convertible preference shares. ANZ and Colonial launched subordinated note issues earlier in the week. Westpac is seeking a minimum of A$750 million. The preference shares should be priced at the ... MoreNAB's interest margin falls under pressure of higher funding costs
National Australia Bank paid 70 basis points more for term funding during the December quarter than its average cost of term funding. NAB's chief financial officer, Mark Joiner, said the bank issued A$7 billion of wholesale term funding during the quarter, of which $4 billion was in covered ... MoreMacquarie Group's new business model promises more secure but slower growth 
Macquarie Group's business lending and leasing division, Corporate and Asset Finance, will be one of only two of the group's six divisions to report an increased profit contribution when Macquarie reports its results for the year ending March 31.
Over the past few years lending and leasing has ... More
Credit Suisse has initiated analyst coverage of FlexiGroup with an Outperform rating
Credit Suisse has initiated analyst coverage of finance company FlexiGroup, rating the stock an Outperform and forecasting a 13 per cent share price increase for the company in the year ahead.
FlexiGroup sells consumer and business-to-business leases, vendor finance packages, interest-free ... More
Debt collector Credit Corp produces a strong result
Listed debt collector Credit Corp has maintained last year's strong earnings momentum with a 23 per cent increase in net profit for the first half of the 2011/12 financial year.
Credit Corp last week reported a net profit of A$13 million for the six months to December – up 23 per cent on the ... More
Fitch considers downgrade for Australian banks
Fitch Ratings is considering a downward revision in the long term credit ratings of Australia's major banks, a step that may cost one of them an 'AA' class rating.
At present, Fitch has long-term credit ratings for Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank and Westpac of AA. Fitch rates ANZ at ... More
Weak asset growth, soft margins forecast for banks reporting interim earnings
Analysts are expecting those banks reporting December-half interim results - Commonwealth Bank and Bendigo & Adelaide Bank - to report subdued earnings growth. Macquarie Equities issued a report last week, saying it expects CBA's result to show soft margins, driven by competition for assets and ... MoreMoody's cuts Bank of Queensland rating
Moody's Investors Service cut the long term credit rating of Bank of Queensland to A3, from A2. The credit ratings agency said the outlook remained negative for the bank's rating. Moody's placed BOQ's ratings on review for possible downgrade in October. It justified its rating action on a ... MoreWhat the analysts are saying: ANZ's Asian strategy will deliver growth
The retreat of European banks from Asia is good news for other banking groups in the region, particularly ANZ, according to Macquarie Equities. In a report issued last week, Macquarie said it expected ANZ to be able to increase the profitability of its Asian operation from the current level of ... MoreIMB capital structure under review
IMB has managed to offset the effects of an erosion in its margins and a rise in the level of liquid assets over the December 2011 half and post a mild increase in net profits. The building society said its profit increased to A$15.13 million over the half, compared with $15.07 million in the ... MoreJob cuts: banks on a mission to rein in costs
During the big bank’s profit reporting season, in November, investors expressed concern about the fact that for some of the banks costs were rising faster than revenues. Investors and analysts made the point that banks were faced with a low-growth outlook and would need to be a lot more ... More
By John Kavanagh
Published on Monday, 23 January, 2012
Filed under ANZ, Commonwealth, NAB, Westpac, costs
