Australian Banking & Finance articles from August 2006

Australian Banking & Finance archives from August 2006

Banks pushing into new financial products: intense competition from new players is compelling banks to expand into different product areas.
August 15, 2006... Never before have Australian banks faced so many direct challenges--from each other, from foreign banks and from non-bank institutions--in their traditional business areas of lending and transaction accounts. In response, local banks are...

ING to manage international equities strategy from Australia: ING Investment Management (INGIM) has announced enhancements to its core international equities strategy which will see the Australian-based investment team driving the management of its international equities portfolios from Sydney.(NEWS)
August 15, 2006... Mr Eric Siegloff, head of INGIM Australia's International Equity team has overseen the changes to INGIM's core international equity portfolio and his team will now also take responsibility for the construction of INGIM's international equities...

Credit unions still healthy in 2006: rumours about the possible demise of Australian credit union sector are greatly exaggerated.
August 15, 2006... Credit unions in Australia continue to defy the pressure of increasingly intense competition from mainstream financial institutions. They continue to hold their own, with ongoing consolidation leading to stronger individual organisations and...

The biggest Australian credit union of them all: Credit Union Australia (CUA) continues to grow in size and strength, helped by its recent successful merger with the Australian National Credit Union.
August 15, 2006... In 1966, CUA opened the doors to its first branch in the heart of Brisbane city. Known then as the Queensland Postal Cooperative, the credit union was established as a financial organisation where individuals would lend money to each other in...

New ways to automate processes financial services: an Australian company is offering advanced technology and services to help financial institutions to effectively manage business processes without replacing their existing IT systems.
August 15, 2006... Ananda Rao is the founder and former executive director of Infosys Australia. In 2005 he left to establish Value Chain (International) Ltd, a Melbourne-based information management company that facilitates the aggregation, processing and...

Local transaction banks struggle to make inroads in large corporate market.(NEWS)
August 15, 2006... HSBC, Standard Chartered and Citigroup continue to secure more than half of all primary transaction banking relationships with Asias major corporate customers, according to research and consulting firm East & Partners. Latest Asia...

Ralph Norris on people, purpose and passion: on the evening of Thursday, 6 July, Commonwealth Bank of Australia managing director, Ralph Norris, spoke on leadership and other issues.(SPECIAL FEATURE--RALPH NORRIS LECTURER)(Company overview)
August 15, 2006... At a key lecture hosted by Australian Banking & Finance magazine--a part of the Cisco Systems 2006 lecture series--Ralph Norris elaborated on his strongly held view that people, purpose and passion are at the heart of good leadership and at the...

There are women in insurance after all: our recently published list of Australia's top insurers may have created the impression that few women hold leadership positions in the industry. This is far from true.(SPECIAL FEATURE: WOMEN IN INSURANCE)(Christine McLoughlin)(Jacki Johnson)(Sam Mostyn)
August 15, 2006... Australian Banking & Finance magazine's list of 'The top 50 people in Australian insurance' this year contained just two women: AMP's chief information officer, Lee Barnett, and BUPA Australia Health's chief financial officer, Deirdre Blythe....

Women In Insurance.(SPECIAL FEATURE: WOMEN IN INSURANCE)(Brief article)
August 15, 2006... Women In Insurance (WII) is a networking group for women who work for and within the insurance industry It is designed to encourage women who work in the industry to communicate with one another, to help each other achieve their goals in a...

2006 Australian Banking & Finance news magazine awards ceremony and cocktail reception.(16TH ANNUAL BANKING & FINANCE AWARDS--PICTORIAL)
August 15, 2006... Australian financial services industry gathered in numbers for the major financial services event of the year, our annual Banking Awards. Now in their 16th year, these awards acknowledge the outstanding achievements of the industry from the...

ATM software security--cure or band-aid?(SPECIAL PROMOTION)
August 15, 2006... The ATM channel continues to be the 'trusted environment' of choice for retail banking customers. Up to 80 percent of all transactions take place at the ATM and this will continue to grow as more transaction types migrate to the self-service...

Adelaide Bank sees profits rise 25 percent.(NEWS)
August 15, 2006... Adelaide Bank has posted a A$94 million post tax profit for the full year to June, up 25 percent on the previous year. The bank said its margin lending business generated a A$30 million profit with the Goldman Sachs JBWere Equity Finance...

NAB to start processing chip card transactions.(NEWS)
August 15, 2006... National Australia Bank is set to begin processing 20,000 chip care transactions a day following a successful pilot with the banks customers. NAB general manager of Acquiring, Peter Roeleven, said the bank expected early uptake of the...

The growth and growth of funds under management: there appears to be no stopping the Australian investment management industry. In the March quarter it passed the $1 trillion mark in consolidated assets and is forecast to maintain double-digit growth for years to come.(NEWS)
August 30, 2006... In the past decade, the investment management industry has become a dynamic component of the Australian financial services sector, underpinned by a successful retirement income policy, a sophisticated investor base and innovative products. ...

GE takes Australian model to the world.(NEWS)
August 30, 2006... The success of GE Money in Australia and New Zealand has seen its US parent company put in place a strategy to replicate the business model in its market of origin. Charged with this mandate, Australian Chief Executive Mr Tom Gentile will...

A brave new banking world: innovative technology is changing the face of the financial services sector in a range of areas. So what do Australian institutions need to do to stay ahead of the game?(Patrick Driessen of Unisys Asia Pacific)(Interview)
August 30, 2006... People sometimes imagine that the bank of the future will feature roaming tellers with PDAs and transactions at supermarket checkouts. The reality is likely to be both more down-to-earth and more interesting. In the next year or two, online...

Mobile payments--opportunity or threat?(Nick Caplan of LogicaCMG PLC)(Interview)
August 30, 2006... Australian Banking & Finance magazine recently spoke with Nick Caplan, LogicaCMG's chief executive, international lines of business, about the viability of mobile payments technology and its likely effect on the Australian financial services...

Melbourne re-emerges as a major financial centre.(SPECIAL FEATURE VICTORIA)
August 30, 2006... The exceptional growth of Victoria's financial services sector continues to outpace that of Sydney's. Close collaboration between business, government and academia in recent years has helped Melbourne to enhance its reputation as a...

Australia--the funds management hub for Asia? In early August, Australia's Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs, Trade and International Security, Kevin Rudd, told the Investment and Financial Services Association Conference of his proposal to establish a funds management export taskforce.(NEWS)
August 30, 2006... The federal opposition's vision for Australia's funds management industry involves a dynamic, intensive export drive, especially into the rapidly growing economies of Asia. Speaking at the Investment and Financial Services Association...

St Andrews gaining good traction.(NEWS)(St. Andrew's Insurance earnings)(Brief article)
August 30, 2006... HBOS Australias wealth and insurance arm, St Andrews, has posted a half year profit before tax of A$8.4 million. The result saw revenue increase by 95 percent and profits by 147 percent compared to the same period last year. St Andrews...

Banks failing their business customers.(NEWS)
August 30, 2006... Despite the rhetoric over the past 18 months, East & Partners inaugural Business Banking Sentiment Index shows Australias banks are still failing business banking customers, a fact illustrated by decreasing customer satisfaction and sentiment...

NAB profits from patience with CRM technology: over the past 15 years, National Australia Bank has developed a customer relationship management system that is now bearing fruit in terms of dramatically increased interaction with customers.(NEWS)
August 30, 2006... All Australian financial institutions seek to understand their customers' needs and behaviours better, and to leverage their customer data better, through intricate information and analysis systems. National Australia Bank (NAB) has been...

Considering regulatory risk in business banking.(NEWS)
August 30, 2006... One area where banks worldwide have been turning their attention to recently is funding energy and alternative energy sources. The value of syndications for renewable energy projects has grown dramatically in the last few years. But,...