This Month
Westpac’s Unite technology project costs rise as it migrates customers
The bank said the expected cost of creating a single mortgage system would increase to $285 million, up from $265 million projected last November.
NAB to cut 170 jobs in business division, add international roles
The bank’s Australian business division is the latest to be hit by consolidation as it adds hundreds of jobs in India and Vietnam.
Stand up to whinging gas giants
Readers’ letters on a controversial drawing in The Australian Financial Review, gas tax, replacing Jacinta Allan, and self-managed superannuation funds.
RBA calls for co-ordinated effort to unlock digital asset markets
A series of pilot transactions using digital assets drew a strong industry response, but the RBA says banks and regulators need to accelerate their efforts.
Bank investors ‘should run for exit’ if Middle East conflict worsens
Bank sector analysts expect ANZ, Westpac, and National Australia Bank to top up their bad debt provisions when they announce interim results in May
Banks rebuff work from home calls as Wesfarmers pauses business travel
Australia Post joins Qantas and Virgin in hiking prices, while the big four lenders are holding firm against union demands to allow staff to log in remotely.
Banks face climate stress as home insurance crisis widens
By 2050, one in four Australian houses may be uninsured, as rising premiums from climate change make it unaffordable, creating problems for lenders.
Ex-Macquarie banker drives mortgage broker roll-up Recludo towards IPO
Tim Brown says attacking the mortgage market niches with a private-equity lens can help increase broker loan books, keeping power from major banks.
Households can handle global shocks, interest rate pain, says RBA
The central bank’s health check shows households are 15 months ahead on payments, giving the RBA room to lift the cash rate to a 15-year high.
Macquarie’s millionaires factory is for the little guy
The bank’s latest attempt to attack rivals on interest rates, while framing itself alongside battlers, is a bit much.
Shares of big four banks at risk after RBA rate rise
Morgan Stanley has warned that earnings of Australia’s largest banks could fall by as much as 11 per cent if higher borrowing costs sends Australia into a recession.
Big banks are wrongly blaming brokers for mortgage fraud
The reality is that the biggest vulnerabilities sit in these institutions’ referral networks and internal sales channels – both run by the banks themselves.
APRA proposes massive lending shake-up to jump-start productivity
While the prudential regulator will make it less costly to lend to some types of borrowers, it is also tightening liquidity rules and warning of global risks.
Financial crimes officials using CBA data to ‘chase down’ loan fraud
The country’s largest bank raised the alarm about $1 billion of suspicious mortgages with regulators, with worries that fraudulent borrowings are widespread.
Banks’ new challenges post-Hayne: big tech, AI fraud and regulation
Just as APRA is recalibrating financial risk regulation to reflect the changing environment, policymakers need to balance the threats and opportunities of AI.
Australian banks ramp up tax fight against Apple Pay, Google, Meta
Banks argue foreign rivals benefit from lower taxes and less regulation. They’re calling on the federal government to level the playing field.
Escalating $1b loan fraud scandal threatens to engulf top banks
AUSTRAC is investigating a widening mortgage loan fraud scandal, after a syndicate duped Commonwealth Bank into writing $1 billion in loans off fake payslips.
Macquarie’s disruption to banking ranks up there with AI
The bank’s role as the disruptor in chief to traditional banking warrants equal prominence as questions about the impact of artificial intelligence.
ANZ leadership overhaul reaches business banking
Clare Morgan is the latest Shayne Elliott-era executive to depart since the arrival of his successor Nuno Matos last May.
CBA chairman warns AI risks ‘hollowing out’ Australia’s economy
In a rare intervention, the chairman of the country’s biggest bank urged the federal government to regulate and tax the vast artificial intelligence platforms.
