Nicholas Moore, chief executive of Australian investment banking major Macquarie Group says that proposed changes to regulatory framework had created an environment of uncertainty in the banking industry, whilst the investment bank announced a profit forecast that was below market expectations.
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Mortgage fund investors may be required to wait as many as four years for access to cash held in frozen investments.
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New figures from a leading mortgage broker suggests that Australian’s are feeling the effects of three consecutive interest rate increases and the paring back of federal government grants, with demand for home loans declining sharply during the month of January.
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Australian wealth manager AMP’s exclusivity agreement with French insurance giant AXA SA in the proposed acquisition of Australasian subsidiary AXA Asia Pacific holdings (APH), ceased to be effective at the weekend, implying that on Monday, investors will have a better idea of who will be buying the company.
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The Australian federal government is ending its policy of guaranteeing the wholesale funding commitments of Australian banks, citing a stronger economy and improving market conditions as reasons for ending the scheme, which it says will not contribute to a rise in funding costs.
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Australian retail banking major National Australia Bank may team up with US private equity group Blackstone, and British buy-out firm Revolution in a potential bid for as many as 300 branches of troubled British banking giant Royal Bank of Scotland, according to the Financial Times.
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Australian investment banking major Macquarie Group has acquired the research and investment banking operations of Luxembourg based private bank Sal Oppenheim.
Macquarie had recently acquired the private bank’s derivatives business in December last year.
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Three consecutive interest rate increases in the run up to Christmas appear to have taken their toll on consumer spending, with retail sales unable to maintain November’s strong momentum, according to new data.
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Craig Dunn, chief executive of Australian wealth manager AMP, has cooled on the prospects of acquiring AXA Asia Pacific holdings (APH), and according to The Australian reportedly told managers at the company that the acquisition is not a “strategic must do”.
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Despite a widely expected hike in official interest rates, home owners and businesses were spared a fourth consecutive rate increase by the Reserve Bank of Australia, which yesterday opted to pause its interest rate tightening cycle, choosing instead to allow big banks to take the strain, after having pushed up their lending rates in excess of official interest rate increases.
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