Australian banking major Westpac has reported a whopping 25 per cent drop in first half net profits 20 $2.97 billion.
Westpac blamed the poor performance on an increase in bad debt provisions, and costs that resulted from establishing the Bank of Melbourne.
Westpac delivered a net profit of $3.96 billion during the same time period in the previous year, with analysts forecasting an average estimate of $3.11 billion.
After announcing a $305 million restructuring of its UK operations and job cuts numbering 1,400, Australian banking major NAB has seen its share price fall. The lender recently announced a loss on its UK business for the half year ending March 31st resulted in a 15.6 drop in its own half yearly profit, which came [...]
Banking analysts are predicting that Australian banking major NAB will not sell its interests in the UK, whilst the economy continues to stay weak.
The analysts cite pricing as the main reason, arguing that NAB will not be able to obtain a decent price for the Clydesdale and Yorkshire banks according to CBA analyst Ben Zucker.
As fears begin to mount that the European sovereign debt crisis is spreading, Australian lenders are finding that their funding costs are rising in response.
May is again likely to be a difficult month for the banks, particularly if they do not follow what is almost certainly going to be a rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia as they seek to protect their margins.
The link that is supposed to exist between the Australian central bank set interest rate and the rates charged by commercial lenders is a myth that is need of being busted according Phil Chronican who runs the ANZ’s domestic Australian business.
A survey undertaken by The Australian suggests that the big four lenders are jacking up fixed rate mortgages as they seek to mitigate the impact on their bottom line from the Australian government’s ban on exit fees for home loans, whilst at the same time profiting from the increasing number of borrowers who prefer to lock in their interest rates.
The Reserve Bank of Australia is developing new regulations which will ban companies from imposing excessive charges on their customer’s credit cards.
The results of a new survey conducted by DBM consultants suggests that borrowing plans of SME’s have fallen in direct response to the growing differential between official interest rate, and what is being charged by the major banks.
Choice the consumer, group claims that mortgage borrowers could save as much as $70,000 on their home loan, simply by switching from a major lender.
The consumer watchdog recently released its findings as part of its Move Your Money Campaign, which it argues suggest that there are huge savings on interest charges and fees to be had.
Fitch, the global credit ratings agency has downgraded Macquarie Group’s banking arm from A to A-, citing the lenders reliance on wholesale funding markets, and the market orientated nature of its businesses.
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