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    Banking products

    Today

    Westpac CEO Peter King.

    Westpac CEO wants super on a level playing field

    The bank boss said comments by Apollo Capital Management should force an urgent rethink on regulatory rules for super funds.

    • James Eyers

    Yesterday

    ANZ’s chief executive, Shayne Elliott, at the bank’s half-year result presentation on Tuesday. He expects interest rates to begin to fall next year.

    ANZ says it can reward shareholders and grow lending

    The bank said profits were down in its retail business with conditions “more competitive than ever”, but lending to large companies was stronger.

    • Updated
    • Lucas Baird and James Eyers
    Silicon Valley Bank failed in March last year.

    Good banks today want to be seen as boring

    Regional US financial institutions are promoting themselves as stodgy, stuffy and dull in response to industry failures.

    • Bre Bradham

    This Month

    Westpac CEO Peter King says the banking sector has competed away three rate rises.

    Westpac shows how banks are mortgage war casualties

    Peter King says Westpac is hunting growth. But he won’t find it in old-fashioned mortgages and deposits, where returns have been brutally competed away. 

    • James Thomson
    Westpac said its first half profit of $3.3bn was down 16 per cent on the first half last year.

    Westpac deflects downturn with special dividend

    The Westpac boss says the return of $1.5 billion to shareholders is a sign of confidence in the Australian economy and the outlook for bad debts.

    • Updated
    • James Eyers and Lucas Baird
    Advertisement
    Macquarie CEO Shemara Wikramanayake has been appointed business champion to the Philippines.

    Macquarie goes after big four’s business lending lunch

    The investment bank’s share of small business lending is only 1.7 per cent, but its $15.8 billion book grew by 22 per cent for the year and Macquarie wants more.

    • Updated
    • James Eyers and Lucas Baird
    Cash App is growing, including by incorporating Afterpay. But regulators have been scrutinising its compliance controls.

    Buy now, pay later surges as Dorsey realises Cash App vision

    Block’s BNPL volumes are rising as Afterpay is rolled into Cash App, which has 24 million active users in the US. The stock jumped more than 10pc on Friday.

    • James Eyers
    NAB chief executive Andrew Irvine is promising strategy tweaks rather than pivots.

    New NAB boss Andrew Irvine on trust, banker pay and client weddings

    Andrew Irvine has inherited a solid strategy, but five weeks into the job he’s not afraid to weigh in on tough issues such as banker bonuses and regulatory creep.

    • James Thomson
    NAB chief executive Andrew Irvine.

    The ‘astonishing’ number in NAB’s profit

    There’s a very good reason why new boss Andrew Irvine won’t change the bank’s strategy too much. 

    • James Thomson
    Central banks are traditionally viewed as regulation-oriented market fixers that should focus only on guaranteeing financial stability.

    What will central banks do in a cashless world?

    The development puts new pressure on such institutions to reimagine their role and become more innovative.

    • Mariana Mazzucato and David Eaves

    April

    Liberal senator Andrew Bragg says bank rules need to be examined.

    The politician who’s answered ANZ’s rallying call on bank rules

    Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg has backed Shayne Elliott’s view that bank rules are restricting economic growth and making it harder for first home buyers to get into the market. 

    • James Thomson
    CBA’s dumping of royal commission bonus caps has angered ASIC which says it creates conduct risks.

    ASIC chairman ‘very disturbed’ about CBA’s bonus move

    Joe Longo said he had raised concerns about CBA’s breach of bonus caps directly with the bank’s chairman Paul O’Malley and urged the bank to reconsider.

    • James Eyers and Lucas Baird
    Brisbane city Hall and St James Square.

    Firstmac hackers claim tax file numbers

    The Brisbane-based lender has warned customers that tax file numbers and dates of birth have been stolen.

    • Liam Walsh
    AFR

    I lost $2.5m of my super to scammers

    Five victims outline how their funds were taken by sophisticated impersonation fraudsters and why they feel abandoned by their banks.

    • Duncan Hughes
    ANZ’s Shayne Elliott says politicians and regulators need to re-examine the responsible lending framework, as too many Australians are frozen out of the system.

    Why Shayne Elliott says it’s time to tweak responsible lending rules

    The ANZ boss says the derisking of Australia’s very safe banking system is coming at a cost to growth and economic dynamism. A rebalancing is required. 

    • Updated
    • James Thomson
    Advertisement
    Capify is saying goodbye to Goldman Sachs as its funder.

    SME lender Capify swaps out Goldman Sachs as funder

    Goldman Sachs Private Capital had previously funded Capify with a $135 million facility established in 2019. 

    • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
    CBA is embarking on a major strategic shift involving pushing its Bankwest brand to mortgage brokers.

    CBA dumps bonus limits to fight Macquarie on mortgages

    The bank will dump bonus caps agreed in the shadow of the Hayne royal commission as it tries to stem market share losses to rival Macquarie.

    • James Eyers
    While resilient inflation has raised the prospect of additional rate rises this year, which could put pressure on bank bad debts, bankers say the outlook is still positive.

    Banks stare down spectre of bad debts, eye $4.5b return

    Analysts say banks may declare higher dividends and share buybacks over the next fortnight’s earnings season as margin pressures ease.

    • Lucas Baird and James Eyers
    The interest rate story should prompt a rethink for investors, Morgan Stanley says.

    How to adjust your ASX portfolio for a higher-for-longer world

    Hot inflation and the prospect that rate cuts will be further delayed should encourage investors to rotate from banks towards miners, Morgan Stanley says. 

    • James Thomson
    Macquarie will stop writing car loans.

    Macquarie exits car lending to double down on mortgages

    Macquarie expects 100 jobs to go as it winds down its $5 billion car lending book, following Westpac out of the sector.

    • Updated
    • James Eyers

    The Australian Financial Review Magazine

    BOSS Financial Review

    SCHF director of people and culture Mariam Hares says that in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, “flexibility, culture, wellbeing and … purpose” have emerged as key priorities for employees.
    • Sponsored

    Flexibility the new quid pro quo in the workplace

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    by Sydney Children’s Hospitals Foundation

    Life & Leisure

    The zippy Abarth 500e Turismo in Venom Black.

    Rich List

    Laurence Escalante on one of his boats in Perth.