APRA Flags End To Clamp On Bank Dividends
Old favourites, bank shares returned to the fore on the ASX yesterday after the key regulator APRA revealed that its clamp-on dividends would be eased.
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Bank Reporting Evokes Mixed Reaction From Analysts
As expected the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdowns, and the surge in unemployment and business problems whacked every measure at Australia’s big four banks in the year to September 30.
Read MoreWBC – Morgan Stanley rates the stock as Equal-weight
The composition of earnings in the second half disappointed Morgan Stanley. The broker suspects a meaningful turnaround in franchise performance and operating earnings is unlikely in FY21.
Read MoreInvestors Markdown Westpac After “Disappointing” Result
Westpac’s new long-term CEO, Peter King yesterday described the bank’s full results as “disappointing”, but the reality is the bank has no one else to blame but itself.
Read MoreWestpac Cuts Dividend As Full Year Profit Falls 62%
Westpac has joined rival ANZ in deciding to pay a reduced final dividend after reporting a sharp slide in full-year earnings.
Read MoreWBC – Credit Suisse rates the stock as Outperform
The bank has announced second half cash earnings will be affected by $1.22bn in “notable items”. Credit Suisse believes this will clean up a range of items around specialist buisness which should mean “cleaner” results going forward.
Read MoreWestpac Joins NAB In Warning On Earnings Blow
Westpac has joined the National Australia Bank in revealing pre-result, one-off losses, and other costs of more than a billion dollars. In the case of the NAB, it was more than $600 million for the second half to September 30 while Westpac has revealed a bill of $1.2 billion.
Read MoreWestpac Tie-Up Pushes Afterpay Shares To New All-Time High
Shares in buy now pay later group, Afterpay hit an all-time high of $105.80 yesterday after it announced a new partnership with Westpac. The deal will see Westpac granting Afterpay customers a savings account that can be used as an ordinary savings account but will also be mined for behavioural data.
Read MoreRBA Issues Banks Clean Bill Of Health Despite “Elevated Risks”
Buried in the Reserve Bank’s latest Financial Stability Review is the best news the country (and the governments) have had since the COVID-19 pandemic started ravaging the economy in February – Australia’s banks are healthy and have more than enough capital to support the economy during the slowdown without getting into trouble.
Read MoreWBC – UBS rates the stock as Buy
Westpac Banking Corp reached an agreement to settle the civil proceedings against it with the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC). This includes a penalty of -$1.3bn and brings to an end a disappointing chapter for the bank, observes UBS.
Read MoreWestpac Shares Unmoved Despite Record-Breaking Fine
As reported yesterday Westpac has confirmed a massive $1.3 billion in penalties relating to more than 23 million breaches of anti-money laundering rules.
Read MoreWestpac Readies Settlement With AUSTRAC Over AML Breaches
A massive fine and other penalties are reportedly due to be levied again Westpac shortly in connection with its millions of breaches of money laundering laws.
Read MoreWBC – Morgans rates the stock as Add
The third-quarter net interest margin (NIM) of 2.05% is softer than the broker had expected. The analyst notes the key drags on the margin in the quarter were a strong build-up of liquid asset balances, lower cash rate and higher term deposits.
Read MoreWestpac Opts To Drop Dividend Amid Virus Uncertainty
Westpac has joined its smaller rival in Bendigo and Adelaide in dropping dividend for the 2019-20 financial year. After Westpac suspended its interim dividend in May, the board decided it is prudent not to pay a first-half dividend at all, as the bank faces a highly uncertain outlook due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Read MoreHas APRA Clarified The Outlook For Banks?
The dividend outlook for banks has weighed heavily on valuations since the onset of the pandemic and the resultant economic slump. Has the prudential regulator, APRA, set minds at rest?
Read MoreAPRA “Strikes A Balance” On Bank Dividends
APRA has eased restrictions around paying dividends in time for the June 30 and September 30 reporting season but told the banks and insurers they should seek “to retain at least half their earnings” when considering payouts.
Read MoreWestpac Uncovers More Austrac Money Laundering Breaches
Already on the hook for more than 23 million transactions, Westpac says it has found an extra half-million or more suspicious transactions that may have breached AUSTRAC money laundering rules.
Read More“Flexibility”: APRA Opens Door On Bank Dividends
The chances of banks resuming paying dividends have risen sharply after the key regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) indicated a change of mind.
Read MoreMoody’s Finds Silver Lining In Shutdown For Local Banks
Global ratings group has found a silver lining in the recession and lockdowns generated by the COVID-19 pandemic – it has made the Australian financial system and the banks, safer.
Read MoreA Look At Dividends In The Current Market Environment
As the outlook for earnings has significantly deteriorated and companies conservatively manage balance sheets, the outlook for dividends has been materially impacted. Since the middle of February, over 30% of companies in the ASX200 have deferred, cancelled, suspended, or revised dividends.
Read MoreWBC – UBS rates the stock as Neutral
Westpac has announced the formation of a specialist business division, which includes wealth, superannuation, investments & automotive, general & life insurance. The bank is taking a strategic review to assess the most appropriate ownership structure.
Read MoreWBC – UBS rates the stock as Neutral
Westpac has announced the formation of a specialist business division, which includes wealth, superannuation, investments & automotive, general & life insurance. The bank is taking a strategic review to assess the most appropriate ownership structure.
Read MoreWBC – Credit Suisse rates the stock as Outperform
Credit Suisse downgrades estimates by -1-5% following the first half result, to incorporate lower revenue and higher expenses. The broker observes greater confidence around Westpac’s provisioning compared with its peer group.
Read MoreBanks Well Placed To Weather The COVID Storm
Both KPMG and Deloitte have examined the interim reports from the big four and see them better placed for the immediate future than it might seem from the results which all saw a surge in bad debt provisioning, loan impairments and provisions for compensation.
Read MoreWestpac Eyes Divestments As Dividend Disappears
Westpac yesterday signalled the possible sale of several wealth assets including its superannuation and insurance operations and wealth platforms.
Read MoreDividend Deferred At Westpac After H1 Cash Earnings Fall 70%
Westpac has joined rival ANZ in not paying an interim dividend to shareholders after revealing a massive slump in earnings for the six months to March 31.
Read MoreWBC – Morgans rates the stock as Add
The first half-credit impairment charge is slightly lower than Morgans expected. The broker believes the announcement aligns with its base case that Westpac will not raise capital.
Read MoreWestpac Joins NAB With $2.2b Warning
Westpac has joined the NAB in revealing a huge boost to its impaired loans charge for the six months to March 31, a move that could see the bank report a statutory loss for the half, or at best a very weak profit.
Read MoreWestpac Flags $1.4b Austrac Hit With “Significant” Virus Damage Still To Come
Even before the financial impact from the COVID-19 pandemic is felt, Westpac has warned the market that it will take a $1.43 billion hit to its first-half profits thanks to higher provisions for the money laundering compliance scandal and customer refunds.
Read MoreAPRA Pressures Banks On “Prudent Reductions” To Dividends
APRA, the financial regulator, has told banks, insurers, and other financial groups to think carefully about deciding whether dividends can be paid to shareholders over the rest of this year and into 2021.
Read MoreRBNZ Ratchets Up Pressure On Bank Dividends
It’s getting harder for Australian financial regulators to avoid joining their peers in New Zealand, the UK and EU in ordering banks to suspend their dividends and other capital management moves such as share buybacks.
Read MoreUK Banks Told To Scrap Dividends, Could APRA Follow Suit?
Barclays, RBS, Lloyds, Standard Chartered, Santander and HSBC have all agreed to not proceed with dividends. Will Australian financial regulators follow their peers in the EU and UK and tell major banks to suspend dividends and planned buybacks?
Read MoreBanks In Better Shape For Virus Than For GFC
Analysts argue Australia’s banks are in a much better position to weather this storm than they were in 2008, and have been oversold on that basis.
Read MoreBank Shares Come Under More Selling Pressure
Bank shares took their second pounding of the week so far yesterday after Monday’s thumping and its clear investors were quite blinkered in their approach yesterday.
Read More“A Material Hit”: Bank Margins Squeezed By Lower Rates
The RBA’s rate cut and bets that another will follow in the next month or so have seen questions again raised over the share prices and sustainability of bank dividends at their current levels.
Read MoreWeary Westpac Flags Earnings Downgrade
Unlike rivals NAB and the Commonwealth with their (in the market’s view) – solid result and update last week, we saw a very different story from Westpac which has issued what amounted to a warning of a looming earnings downgrade.
Read MoreWBC – Morgan Stanley rates the stock as Downgrade to Underweight from Equal-weight
Morgan Stanley considers Westpac has the worst revenue outlook of the major banks with ongoing AUSTRAC uncertainty the potential for disappointment on costs, downgrading to Underweight from Equal-weight.
Read MoreWestpac Shares Unmoved On Appointment Of “Battle-Hardened” Chair
Well, the naming of former ANZ CEO, John McFarlane as the incoming chair of Westpac did nothing for the embattled bank’s share price yesterday.
Read MoreWestpac Tipped To Appoint Former ANZ CEO John McFarlane As Chair
Westpac is expected to name former ANZ CEO, John McFarlane as its new chair, to replace Lindsay Maxstead who is leaving the bank in the wake of the multi-billion dollar money-laundering scandal.
Read MoreBanks Underperform As Afterpay Soars In 2019
If you exclude the likes of Afterpay Touch, then the financial sector did not help the wider market in 2019.
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