APRA Fines Westpac Over Reporting Failure
The banking regulator, APRA continues to get tougher with banks and other financial groups it supervises. Yesterday it issued what amounts to a very expensive traffic fine for Westpac.
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Could APRA’s New Capital Requirements Crimp Bank Dividends?
The chances of the banks paying higher dividends in the coming years look to have diminished after APRA ordered Westpac, NAB and ANZ to set a total of $1.5 billion in extra capital aside.
Read MoreBanks Respond To Revised Capital Buffers
Weaker bank shares helped take the wider market lower for another session, but the day’s loss was nowhere near as damaging as Monday’s 1.2% slump.
Read MoreHow The Banks Responded To The RBA Decision
The RBA’s second 0.25% rate in two months had a predictable impact on bank share prices – down they went, taking the ASX 200 with them.
Read MoreCBA Leads Bank Rebound In June Half
Redemption? Sort of; but the way the share prices of Australian banks rebounded in the June half year was extremely helpful to super funds and self-managed funds and investors generally.
Read MoreWestpac Rejigs Executive Bonuses Pay Again
Westpac is having a second go in a few months in overhauling the way it calculates executive pay.
Read MoreRBA Boss Warns Banks On Undermining The Economy
ANZ and Westpac failed to pass on the full 0.25% cut from the Reserve Bank to its mortgage customers and immediately faced pressure from the central bank.
Read MoreBanks Bounce As APRA Loosens Lending Reins
Bank shares had a second good day on the ASX yesterday after their post-election surge on Monday. Monday it was Prime Minister Morrison’s surprise win, yesterday it was APRA as the financial prudential regulator revealed plans to relax a key restriction on home loans.
Read MoreBanks – Is The Worst Over? No.
Some brokers have started to upgrade their recommendations to “BUY” on the banks and believe that they represent value in and around these levels. I still strongly disagree.
Read MoreWBC – Morgans rates the stock as Add
It was a messy result, the broker notes, due to accounting changes, but Westpac’s cash earnings and dividend met the broker’s expectation.
Read MoreWestpac Holds Dividend As H1 Profit Slides 22%
Westpac has held interim dividend at 94 cents a share despite a 22% slump in cash earnings for the six months to March.
Read MoreWestpac Flags Significant New Compensation Charge
Ahead of the release next Monday of its 2018-19 interim profit Westpac has surprised the market with an after trading revelation of a $617 million earnings hit from customer compensation charges.
Read MoreRBA Downbeat On Outlook For Major Banks
With three big banks reporting interim results in early May, it will pay investors to look at the first Financial Stability Review of 2019 from the Reserve Bank and remarks on the profits and earnings.
Read MoreWestpac Joins CBA With Cut To Fixed-Rate Mortgages
We got a sign of those pressures on the big banks again yesterday when Westpac joined the Commonwealth in cutting interest rates on some of its fixed-rate home mortgages – with some of the cuts aimed directly at the weak investor sector.
Read MoreWBC – Credit Suisse rates the stock as Neutral
The bank has announced that first half cash earnings will be reduced by around -$260m amid further customer remediation. This remediation does not include aligned dealer group fee-for-no-service, which is still to come.
Read MoreWestpac In New Remediation Provision To ‘Get It Right’
Westpac has leaked some more red ink out into the market warning that H1 profit will take a $260 million hit from refunding customers in its financial advice, consumer and business banking arms.
Read MoreWestpac To Exit Financial Advice
Westpac investors yawned yesterday at the news the bank was quitting the financial advice sector while overhauling its management structure that will two of its most senior executives leaving the bank.
Read MoreBanks Emerge From The Royal Commission Blues
It’s only been a month since Hayne’s final report has been released, but far from driving a stake through the financial hearts of the Big Four Banks – Commonwealth, Westpac, ANZ and NAB – their position is returning to being as dominant as ever.
Read MoreWestpac, BoQ Diverge On Outlook
Westpac has slipped out a Q1 update revealing a 6.8% rise in cash earnings, BoQ however expects its earnings for the half-year to be down 6% to 9% when it releases them in April.
Read MoreRoyal Commission Triggers Relief Rally In Financials
More than $20 billion was added to the value of listed financials – lead by the big four banks yesterday after investors concluded the outcome from the Hayne banking and finance royal commission would not damage their business models our futures.
Read MoreRoyal Commission Singles Out NAB CEO & Chair
The National Australia Bank is in the gun following the release of the final report from the royal commission which contained very sharp criticism of the bank’s chairman and CEO.
Read MoreBanks, Regulators Brace For Royal Commission Fallout
The long-awaited final report from the finance and banking Royal Commission will be released this afternoon at 4.10 pm (there is a media lock up this afternoon ahead of the release) and while there will be a lot of heat and light and promises from the Morrison government, there will be nothing concrete.
Read MoreKiwi Central Bank Set Force Big Four Banks To Boost Capital Reserves
Australia’s big four banks, already reeling from a stagnant home loan market and revenues, the fallout from the Hayne Royal Commission and censure from upset shareholders, now face more financial problems in their most profitable offshore market – New Zealand.
Read MoreShareholders Whack Down Westpac Over Bonuses
Westpac has suffered a stunning vote of no confidence in the bank board and management at a level we have seldom seen in Australia.
Read MoreFederal Court Throws Out Westpac, ASIC Settlement
ASIC and Westpac now have to start a court case all over again after the Federal Court rejected the bank’s offer to pay a $35 million settlement for contravening responsible lending laws.
Read MoreAPRA Eyes Higher Bank Capital Requirements
More hybrids and other issues to come from our slimming banks? That could be the outcome of a new move by APRA, the banking regulator to force banks to hold more loss-absorbing capital by 2023.
Read MoreSubdued Outlook For Westpac
Another difficult year looms for Westpac and, while mortgage re-pricing should boost first half performance, slower wealth revenues and further customer remediation are likely to weigh.
Read MoreWhat’s Next For The Big Four Banks?
The big four banks have survived a tough year financially unscathed, but with their reputations sullied what does 2019 look like?
Read MoreWestpac Shares Rise After Flat Result
Investors liked the flat annual result from Westpac yesterday and didn’t take too much notice of the mixed outlook (while many commentators and business media focused on it).
Read MoreWestpac Dividend Unchanged On Flat Result
Westpac has joined rivals ANZ and NAB in not inflicting direct financial pain on shareholders as a result of the impact from the banking and finance royal commission.
Read MoreCBA, Westpac Highlight Earnings Week
America’s third-quarter earnings season is nearing the end while in Australia, the September 30 results continue with Westpac revealing its full-year figures this morning, along with a first-quarter update from the Commonwealth Bank midweek.
Read MoreAnalysts Raise Royal Commission Damage Bill
Banking analysts at Morgan Stanley have lifted their estimate for customer remediation costs for the banks to $3 billion over the next two years, up from an earlier forecast of just $500 million.
Read MoreWBC – Morgan Stanley rates the stock as Equal-weight
Morgan Stanley observes conduct-related provisions are weighing on the earnings outlook and reinforcing the view that a reduction in profitability may be required in the next few years to win back support from major stakeholders.
Read MoreWestpac Flags Surprise Earnings Hit
Three days before the end of its 2017-18 financial year, Westpac has flagged a $235 million cut in full-year cash earnings.
Read MoreWestpac Takes On The Wealth Management Upstarts
What happens when pesky, disruptive upstarts take on the big incumbents in an industry? More often than not, they find themselves in a battle royale over market share. And that’s just what’s happening in the wealth management industry, where Westpac is fighting back against the likes of Netwealth, HUB24 and Praemium.
This battle provides a very interesting example of competitive forces at work and things to look out for when considering an investment in very fast-growing companies.
Read MoreWestpac Dividend Steady As H1 Profit Rises 6%
Like rivals NAB and ANZ, Westpac is leaving its interim dividend unchanged after a modest rise in earnings for the six months to March 31.
Read MoreUBS Westpac Downgrade Adds Pressure To Bank Stocks
Investors will be hoping bank stocks steady today after a solid session on Wall Street on Thursday has our market poised to rise when ASX trading resumes shortly.
Read MoreWBC – Morgan Stanley rates the stock as Overweight
Morgan Stanley believes the bank offers less uncertainty and execution risk versus its peers, as it has a settled strategy, good margin management and a consistency on costs.
Read MoreWestpac Profit Up 3% To $8.06 Billion
Westpac has joined its peers in leaving dividends unchanged for the year to September 30 after reporting a 3% rise in cash earnings for the year to $8.062 billion.
Read MoreWestpac Fights Lone Battle On Rate-Rigging Case
It seems Westpac is now on its own to fight the corporate regulator over claims it rigged the key Australian money market interest rate. The news didn’t startle the market and Westpac shares rose 0.6%, Nab shares were also ip 0.6%, as well as ANZ shares while Commonwealth Bank shares eased by 0.15%.
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