A report in The UK’s Sunday Times, suggested that NAB is inclined to sell of both its UK units, Clydesdale and Yorkshire Banks, after the ascension of new NAB Chief Executive Cameron Clyne who took over from predecessor John Stewart on New Year’s Day.
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A class action lawsuit has been filed against Australian Banking major ANZ which is alleging that the lender failed to adequately disclose risks associated with loans to insolvent margin lender Opes Prime.
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Australian pension funds lost a combined A$ 91 billion or US$ 62 billion in the year to Sept 2008, which amounts to the equivalent of about 8 per cent of the country’s total economic output. The staggering loss is a direct consequence of the global credit crisis which has had the result of devaluing assets globally.
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Commonwealth Bank of Australia, together with Aussie Home Loans announced today that they were the preferred buyers for Wizard Home Loans, having beaten rival National Australia Bank in the race to acquire the non-bank lender from its parent GE, embarrassing NAB who only last week said it was in the lead and would close the deal.
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International credit ratings agencies are facing fresh criticism and increasing threats as corporations fund managers and investors increasingly believe that the credibility of their ratings have been destroyed in the wake of the credit crisis which to some degree has affected every corner of the globe.
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Fortescue Metals Group (FMG) took the extraordinary measure of issuing shares in order to pay its contractors. The step raises questions over the company’s cash position. On Friday Fortescue announced that it had issued 1.55 million ordinary shares raising A$ 3.65 million.
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The Federal Securities regulator ASIC, said it intends to proceed with an investigation into whether Commonwealth Bank possibly breached disclosure requirements after it bungled an A$ 2 billion equity placement by failing to disclose an increase in bad debt levels prior to the placement to investors.
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Both NAB and ANZ have added their voices to the warning issued by CBA after its botched equity placement earlier in the week, that as the Australian economy slows the banking industry is liable to see an increase in bad debt.
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S&P raised its BankWest credit rating after the proposed acquisition by Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) received Federal Government Approval. S&P raised BankWest’s ratings from “A+/A-1″ to “AA/A-1+”, with a stable outlook, and removed it from credit watch with positive implications.
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Australian & New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), increased its Sovereign backed US dollar bond issue yesterday by a further US$ 850 million. Separately Australia’s fourth largest lender issued a Samurai Bond, raising ¥35 billion or A$ 564 million also backed by the Australian Federal Government.
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