Latest news and insights on banking and finance in Australia and New Zealand, as delivered in the daily 7am Banking Day email news service (subscribe or take out a free trial).
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Dutch limit payments cartel profits
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10 May 2004 12:00amThe Netherlands banking cartel must pay a collective fine of 47.2 million following an investigation by the Netherlands Competition Authority into the activities of Interpay - the debits payment network in that country which the regulators found earned returns of between five times and seven times an acceptable benchmark. » read more »
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Wesfarmers counts Cashcard profit
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10 May 2004 12:00amWesfarmers said in its result for the nine months to March 2003 late last week that the initial proceeds from the sale of Cashcard through the Gresham Private Equity Fund - would contribute approximately $9 million to pre-tax profit in the June 2004 quarter. » read more »
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Bank of Queensland quits broker market
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10 May 2004 12:00amBank of Queensland said on Friday that it would cease sourcing loans through mortgage brokers from June. » read more »
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Morgan doubts wealth affects a drag on the outlook
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10 May 2004 12:00amAt both the media and investor briefings on Thursday, questioners pushed Westpac's managing director David Morgan to canvass a gloomier trajectory for the Australian economy than that formally forecast by Westpac one in which consumers close the door on spending, prioritise debt repayments, and so through "wealth affects", trigger a much more severe turning in the cycle than the consensus so far expects. » read more »
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RBA alert to wealth affects
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10 May 2004 12:00amOfficials at the Reserve Bank of Australia might well see more wealth affects dictating the path of the economy over the next year or two than commercial banks. » read more »
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Westpac earnings flat in March half
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07 May 2004 12:00amThe "distribution" rather than the "product" side of the business appears to be driving earnings at Westpac in the half year to March 2004, in a result misleadingly labelled by the bank as a record profit. » read more »
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Westpac profit no record
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07 May 2004 12:00amBanks often complain about the characterisation of banks profits by, say, the media, as massive and excessive. The argument usually runs that banks are unusually large businesses in Australia they have a large capital base on which they must earn returns, and how much better it would be if only the critics viewed the reported profits in context. » read more »
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Distribution drive business and consumer bank
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07 May 2004 12:00amWestpac made more from "distribution" than from the "product" side of its business in the latest half year, assuming the internal allocation of costs used by the bank in its segment reporting can be believed. » read more »
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Home loan market share allowed to slide
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07 May 2004 12:00amThe bank said annualised growth in home lending fell to 15 per cent in the March 2004 half, versus 19 per cent in the March 2003 half, and said the fall in loan growth on the prior period resulted from an 18 per cent fall in new lending, and was "consistent with below market share growth over the period and our strategy to limit exposure to investment property lending." » read more »
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Westpac expects to profit from Virgin Money
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07 May 2004 12:00amCredit card outstandings in Australia increased by 11 per cent to $50.3 billion over the March 2004 half, and increased by 17 per cent over the full year, a rate of growth presumably lifted by the bank's 300,000 new cards issued under the Virgin Money brand. » read more »
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Winning market share in business banking
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07 May 2004 12:00amThe bank said it increased business lending by 18 per cent in the March 2004 half over March 2003, or a rate of growth about three times that of the wider market. » read more »
