Westpac Online Investing is seeking to increase its market share by the middle of next year, and as part of that plan has slashed its brokerage fees, bringing them into parity with larger rivals Commec and E*Trade.
Previously Westpac Online Investing customers who held cash investment accounts were charged $24.95. Westpac has reduced the brokerage fee to $19.95 according to a report in the Australian Financial Review.
Every couple of years the rumour mill begins with speculation that investment banking powerhouse Goldman Sachs will buy the 55 per cent stake in its Australian joint venture Goldman Sachs & Partners that it does not own.
The reason for the two year cycle is that it coincides with a 90 day window of opportunity for Goldman’s to discuss the stake sale with its domestic joint venture’s 120 plus shareholders.
Bancassurance firm Suncorp on Tuesday announced the sales of its Tyndall Investment Management fund management business as it moves to further streamline its operations.
Suncorp is selling the division to Nikko Asset Management, a Japanese financial services firm that is seeking to enter the Australian market for $128.5 million. Tyndall manages approximately $18 billion for Suncorp, and the bancassurer will remain its major client even after Nikko assumes control of the business.
Australian banking major ANZ says it remains confident it will be successful in its attempt to acquire a controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), after its bid price was trumped by Korean financial services firm Hana Financial.
On Tuesday The Wall Street Journal reported that Hana Financial had already clinched the deal, after acquiring preferred business status for the 51 per cent stake which has been put up for sale by US Private Equity group Lone Star Funds.
The Wall Street Journal has reported that Korean financial services firm Hana Financial has already acquired a 51 per cent stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB) from US Private Equity Firm Lone Star Funds for US$4.2 billion.
IF the report is true, it would mean that Hana Financial has managed to snatch the target company out of the arms of suitor ANZ, which has yet to confirm or acknowledge that a transaction has taken place.
Australia’s stock exchange ASX Ltd has agreed to merge with the Singapore stock exchange (SGX) in a deal that will create the second largest bourse in the Asia Pacific region.
The deal is valued at $8.4 billion and will result in SGX acquiring all outstanding ASX shares through an arrangement scheme, paying $22 in cash, and 3.473 new SGX shares per ASX share.
Australian banking major ANZ is thought to be considering the possibility of engaging in a full acquisition of Korea Exchange Bank (KEB), which would require the lender to raise as much as $3 billion in fresh equity.
The lender is currently conducting due diligence on acquiring a 57 per cent stake in the Korean bank, which is owned by Export Import Bank of Korea, and Private Equity Firm Lone Star.
Australian banking major ANZ says it is keeping its options over regarding funding should it decide to go ahead with a $4.3 billion acquisition of a controlling stake in Korea Exchange Bank (KEB).
The lender already has enough regulatory capital to support the acquisition from existing cash reserves and debt. ANZ has a tier one capital ratio of 10.5 per cent and has said it will not rule out a future capital raising to maintain its strong position.
Australian banking major CBA says it wants to raise its holdings in Vietnam International Bank (VIB), from the current level of 15 per cent to a proposed level of 20 per cent.The lender said on Wednesday that intends to raise its holding in VIB once it completes its negotiation with the bank for strategic partnership.
CBA acquired the 15 per cent stake in the Vietnamese lender after it had confirmed it received regulatory approval for the sale which made CBA the solitary foreign strategic shareholder in April.
The Australian Competition and Consumer (ACCC) has given its final verdict on the proposed acquisition of AXA Asia Pacific Holdings (APH) by NAB, delivering what can only be described as a death blow to the proposed $13.3 billion bid, by saying it remains opposed to any deal.
The failure to give its blessing stalls NAB’s plan to become the clear dominant player in the Australian wealth management space, and further complicates APH’s parent AXA SA ambition to expand substantially in Asia.
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