Australian Banking & Finance articles from December 2004

Australian Banking & Finance archives from December 2004

Global warming a real concern for our insurers.(economic influence of floods and storms on the insurance industry)
December 15, 2004... THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY faced many challenges going forward, IAG chief executive Michael Hawker told the World Financial Services conference. Global warming was a key area of concern while there were many "latent risks" that could pose huge...

New mortgage model.(Commonwealth Bank of Australia's mortgage marketing strategy)
December 15, 2004... THE COMMONWEALTH BANK HAS ANNOUNCED DETAILS OF ITS recently established contracted, commission only sates force to leverage mortgage customer acquisition across Australia. This proprietary sates force, known as Mortgage Innovation or...

Finance leaders look to China for growth.(Commonwealth Bank of Australia's David Murray and Deutsche Bank's Chum Darvall )(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... Two of the leading figures in Australian banking, Commonwealth Bank CEO David Murray and the chief executive of Deutsche Bank, Chum Darvall, believe the time is right for domestic financial institutions to accelerate their efforts in China. ...

AMP advocates super extension.(Current Account)(AMP Financial Services introduces Choice of Fund for workers)
December 15, 2004... THE CHOICE OF SUPERANNUATION Fund regime that commences in Jury next year should be extended to all Australian workers, not just those covered by Federal Awards, says AMP Financial Services chief Craig Dunn. Dunn called on state governments...

Foreign businesses affiliated with Australian resident businesses generated $142.3 billion in sales revenue for goods and services in 2002-03, according to new globalisation figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.(Facts & Figures)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... FOREIGN BUSINESSES affiliated with Australian resident businesses generated $142.3 billion in sates revenue for goods and services in 2002-03, according to new globalisation figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. ...

Banking world.(Current Account)(Westpac Banking Corp. launches new service for home loan customers)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... WESTPAC HAS UNVEILED THE latest vehicle in its push to provide better home loan service to customers any time, anywhere. Westpac mobile bankers in bright red VW Beetles will visit homes and workplaces around Australia. The fleet's first...

Improving customer satisfaction.(another view)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... COMPANIES THAT HAVE HIGH volumes of customer interactions could improve customer satisfaction by 20 percent or more by centralising their multiple contact channels and customer service operations in one structure, according to Gartner. ...

On the record.(Current Account)(GE Money Australia to focus on areas of expertise)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... "Deposit taking is not something immediately on our agenda in Australia, so I can put to rest the minds of all my colleagues at the big four banks. We are going to focus on areas where we have expertise: personal loans, mortgages and credit...

Award categories increased.(News)
December 15, 2004... NOMINATIONS ARE BEING invited for the 15th annual 2005 Australian Banking & Finance newsmagazine Awards. Optus is again sponsoring the premier event on the financial services industry calendar and next year we have added two new...

Organic growth imperative: Australian banks are under pressure to match the strong profit growth experience of the last five years.(News)
December 15, 2004... While organic top-line growth in domestic markets remains the most viable option, Australian banks, like their overseas counterparts, will need to establish a disciplined approach in order to attain this type of growth. So says A.T....

Cisco signs on for new lectures.(News)(Cisco Systems Inc. teams up with Australian Banking & Finance magazine)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... CISCO SYSTEMS HAS TEAMED up with Australian Banking & Finance newsmagazine to present our annual lecture Series in 2004-05. The series will feature four of the top executives in the financial services industry. Details will be provided...

Consumers believe deposits are guaranteed.(News)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... UP TO ONE THIRD OF AUSTRALIANS mistakenly believe their bank deposits are guaranteed, an online consumer poll by consumer infomediary Infochoice.com.au suggests. When asked what protection they thought there was for their savings in the...

Our funds capabilities lacking: asset management and work management systems group DST International recently held a roundtable which focused on the the race to become Asia Pacific's investment hub.(News)
December 15, 2004... The financial, services industry in Australia now employs 350,000 people, or 3.5 per cent of the total workforce. The industry is also growing at 5.3 per cent, compared to Australia's overall growth rate of 3.7 per cent. Ian Mathieson,...

Whatever happened to Les Hosking?(News)(financial services executive performing duties at National Electricity Market Management Company Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... LES HOSKING IS A BIG name in financial, services in Australia, but he is making his mark in electricity these days. Lee is CEO of the National. Electricity Market Management Company Ltd (NEMMCO), a company established under the National....

Non-conforming loans surge.(News)(mortgage lending)
December 15, 2004... LENDING COMMITMENTS IN THE non-conforming mortgage market grew 500%, from $1.4 billion in 1999 to $8.4 billion in 2003. While it only accounts for 4.2% of total lending commitments, Datamonitor predicts a bright future for non-conforming...

Survey points to rising debt levels: Australians cited debt, credit card and loan repayments as the most likely way of spending their spare cash and more than one in three said they were likely to put spare cash into a savings/deposit account, says a survey.(News)
December 15, 2004... The survey of over 500 Australian participants and more than 14,000 in 28 countries around the world, is conducted six-monthly by ACNielsen. Survey respondents were asked to identify how they spend their spare cash once all essential living...

Confidential information and restraints of trade: are you losing business when you lose employees?(News)
December 15, 2004... THE END OF THE YEAR IS OFTEN a time where financial, services industry staff think about moving on, sometimes to your competitors, sometimes to set up their own businesses. In either case there is potential for losing clients, so the time...

Addressing our ageing population.(News)
December 15, 2004... THE RECENTLY RELEASED Productivity Commission report on Australia's ageing population estimates ageing baby-boomers are going to cost the federal and state governments an extra $2200 billion over the next 40 years. And the only answer the...

Aussie opens Melb outlet.(News)(Aussie Home Loans in Melbourne )(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... AUSSIE HOME LOANS HAS opened its first retail outlet in Melbourne at Westfield Southland. Aussie Centres provide a one-stop shop for art the information customers need to find the right home loan. Aussie offers a wide range of loans from...

Faces of banking & finance 2004.(News)(Andrew Thorburn in National Australia Bank Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... ANDREW THORBURN HAS jumped ship at St George for rival National Australia Group only weeks after the personal customer division he headed up at St George was reshaped. He will head up NAB's retail operation in Australia under Ahmed Fahour....

World Financial Services Conference a winner.(World Financial Services Conference--Pictorial)
December 15, 2004... The second annual World Financial Services Conference was held in Sydney on November 25 and featured key addresses from some of the leading figures in the banking and finance industry. Trevor Rowe, Citigroup. David Murray, CBA. ...

Top panel discuss retail issues.(Retail Financial Services Luncheon--Pictorial)
December 15, 2004... Four of the top executives in the financial services space, Wizard founder Mark Bouris, CBA retail head Hugh Harley, MasterCard chief Leigh Clapham and lAG deputy chief executive Ian Brown addressed some of the major industry issues at a panel...

NAB's Australian head Ahmed Fahour boasted at the official opening of the group's Docklands headquarters recently that he, like all employees, would not have an office.(behind the screens)(National Australia Bank Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... NAB's Australian head Ahmed Fahour boasted at the official opening of the group's Docklands headquarters recently that he, like all employees, would not have an office. The whole thing is open plan. Welt Screens can report that Fahour has...

CBA chief executive David Murray sure has some issues with the Financial Review.(behind the screens)(Commonwealth Bank of Australia)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... CBA chief executive David Murray sure has some issues with the Financial Review. Not least of which is the paper's consistent assertion that Murray has been at the helm too long. At a conference in Sydney last month Murray poked that "if you...

Murray, meantime, drew much laughter when mistakenly introduced as the chief executive of Macquarie Bank.(behind the screens)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... Murray, meantime, drew much laughter when mistakenly introduced as the chief executive of Macquarie Bank. "I can assure you I don't work at Macquarie... I don't get paid enough," he laughed, while praising the dynamic investment bank and its...

BankWest's 6% term deposit offering has been a runaway success.(behind the screens)(BankWest Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... BankWest's 6% term deposit offering has been a runaway success, raising far more than the bank anticipated, we hear, providing its own set of issues for bank management.

Loftus Harris, director general of the NSW Dept of State and Regional Development.(behind the screens)(New South Wales, Australia's Department of State and Regional Development)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... Loftus Harris, director general of the NSW Dept of State and Regional Development, provided some interesting statistics during a speech to this magazine's World Financial Services conference on November 25. They included: the Sydney financial...

Andrew Thorburn's departure from St George for NAB raised some eyebrows given the general perception that the St George senior management team were a contented lot under our first lady of banking Gait Kelly.(behind the screens)(National Australia Bank)(St. George Bank Ltd.)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... Andrew Thorburn's departure from St George for NAB raised some eyebrows given the general perception that the St George senior management team were a contented lot under our first lady of banking Gait Kelly. Our spies tell us Thorburn was...

Financial services consultant Grant Halverson believes the Four Pillars policy makes our major banks vulnerable to takeover from a major global player.(behind the screens)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... Financial services consultant Grant Halverson believes the Four Pillars policy makes our major banks vulnerable to takeover from a major global player. He predicts Australia is the next target area for a foreign bank. HSBC is his tip as the...

And finally, Merry Christmas to all our readers and a big thanks to all those who helped Australian Banking & Finance sail through its 15th year.(behind the screens)(Brief Article)
December 15, 2004... And finally, Merry Christmas to all our readers and a big thanks to all those who helped Australian Banking & Finance sail through its 15th year... yes we've been around for 15 years and not only are we stilt going strong, but have plenty of...

Westpac's corporate online tool.(News)(Westpac Banking Corp. launches online banking platform)
December 15, 2004... WESTPAC HAS LAUNCHED WHAT it claims is the most sophisticated online banking platform available in Australasia for large corporations, institutions and government. Westpac Corporate Online is the first comprehensive internet-based banking...

Capital gains.(News)
December 15, 2004... "This is his first Fed tightening." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]