Bankwest has waded into the residential mortgage backed securities market for the first time since it was acquired by Commonwealth Bank for $2 billion. The lender launched a $620 million deal with three different classes of securities.
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JP Morgan says it intends to be the first Wall Street bank to issue Kangaroo bonds since Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008.
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Australian banking major National Australia Bank failed to take advantage of the domestic economic recovery and felt the effects of fierce competition, as it delivered almost no growth in first quarter cash profits compared to the same period a year earlier.
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Mike Smith, chief executive of Australian banking major ANZ, says he supports the decision by the government to end the sovereign guarantee on bank wholesale funding, but added a note of caution, saying that the Australian banking system continues to be vulnerable to potential damaging “aftershocks”.
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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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Australian banking major Westpac Banking Corporation has joined its rivals in improving its online trading platform as the lender gears up to grow its client based by as much as 8 per cent during 2010.
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Inflation is expected to be a key concern for the Australian central bank, the Reserve Bank of Australia is widely tipped to raise interest rates an unprecedented fourth consecutive time.
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The Australian banking sector can expect a broad based re-rating after CBA surprised the market and issued unaudited profits that were in excess of analyst expectations. Most lenders are now expected to post improved earnings forecasts.
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Australia’s super fund industry will be allowed to continue the controversial practice of stock lending, but may end up being more tightly regulated in order to curtail any elevated risks that they may face as a result of the practice.
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