Australian Banking & Finance articles from July 2008

Australian Banking & Finance archives from July 2008

Web throws up challenges for top marketers: experts at Australian Banking & Finance Magazine's recent CMO Panel Discussion--sponsored by Google--agree that while online is the way of the future for promoting their brands the more traditional ways of marketing are here to stay.(NEWS)
July 15, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Australian Banking & Finance Magazine's CMO Panel Discussion saw five of the Financial services industry's leading marketing experts participate in a robust and entertaining debate. They included: Mark Buckman,...

'Looking for sustainable competitive advantages': Greg Einfeld, General Manager, MLC Insurance, provided some interesting insights and raised numerous discussion points for more than 20 executives at the recent Fuji Xerox Insurance Roundtable on Building Efficiencies, hosted by Australian Banking & Finance Magazine.(NEWS)
July 15, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] More than twenty executives attended a Fuji Xerox Insurance Roundtable on Building Efficiencies at Circular Quay in June. Greg Einfeld, General Manager, MLC Insurance, told the luncheon recruitment methods in the...

'Innovation' the key to business banking: Australian Banking & Finance Magazine speaks to some of the major players in the business banking sector to gauge their thoughts on what needs to be done to remain dominant in this highly-competitive aspect of banking.(REPORT)(Company overview)
July 15, 2008... Joseph Healy, Executive General Manager, Business & Private Banking, National Australia Bank--Australia's largest business lending and business deposit taker--believes the nation's top banks face a challenge from overseas competitors if they...

Fuji Xerox Insurance Roundtable Luncheon.(EVENT--PICTORIAL)(Discussion)
July 15, 2008... Greg Einfeld, General Manager, MLC Insurance, led the discussion at the Fuji Xerox Insurance Roundtable on Building Efficiencies, hosted by Australian Banking & Finance Mngazine. More than twenty executives from leading insurance companies...

Closer ties bring changes in trade finance: despite the strong growth in global trade, the use of traditional trade finance instruments such as documentary credits and collections has been decreasing.(NEWS)(Report)
July 15, 2008... According to Guy Whitcher, Head of Working Capital Products at ANZ, the use of traditional trade finance instruments has been decreasing because of a number of reasons. "The closer ties between many regional counterparties has reduced the...

Broking industry on the cusp change: mortgage brokers are facing one of their most difficult times, with the Federal Government taking steps to introduce significant reforms to the industry while the major banks cut commissions.(NEWS)
July 15, 2008... While accepting Australian Banking & Finance Magazine's Best Mortgage Broker award at this year's annual awards night, Aussie chief executive John Symond paid tribute to the players in the industry while alluding to the hard times they were...

CMO outlook panel luncheon.(EVENT--PICTORIAL)
July 15, 2008... Australian Banking & Finance Magazine's first CMO Panel Discussion--sponsored by Google--was a success. More than 100 people attended the event to hear the thoughts of five of the financial services industry's leading marketing experts,...

The following exchanges took place at Australian Banking & Finance Magazine's first CMO Panel Discussion and drew some laughs from the audience.(BEHIND THE SCREENS)(Discussion)
July 15, 2008... The following exchanges took place at Australian Banking & Finance Magazine's first CMO Panel Discussion and drew some laughs from the audience. A question from the floor during the discussion centered on banks persisting with direct mail...

Screens recently interviewed Joseph Healy of the NAB for this issue's feature on business banking.(BEHIND THE SCREENS)
July 15, 2008... Screens recently interviewed Joseph Healy of the NAB for this issue's feature on business banking. NAB won the award for Best Business Bank at our annual awards earlier this year. After the interview came to an end Joseph was all too happy to...

It was interesting to read recently St. George's boss Paul Fegan's comments to the Australian Financial Review which may suggest the proposed union between the happy dragon and Westpac may not all be going to plan.(BEHIND THE SCREENS)
July 15, 2008... It was interesting to read recently St. George's boss Paul Fegan's comments to the Australian Financial Review which may suggest the proposed union between the happy dragon and Westpac may not all be going to plan. Fegan told the paper: "There...

Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, the head economic adviser for credit card company MasterCard, provided another insightful presentation at Australian Banking & Finance Magazine's 5th International Consumer Credit Card Summit recently.(BEHIND THE SCREENS)
July 15, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, the head economic adviser for credit card company MasterCard, provided another insightful presentation at Australian Banking & Finance Magazine's 5th International Consumer Credit Card Summit...

Taking another look at risk.(NEWS)
July 15, 2008... The severity of the credit and liquidity turmoil has brought the future of risk management squarely to the present. The nature and rapidity of the chaos certainly shook the banks' confidence--in each other, and it seems in themselves. As...

NAB walks while IAG talks: National Australia Bank's decision to ditch its plans to buy the local arm of Dutch investment bank ABN AMRO has been described as disappointing. Meanwhile, Insurance Australia Group's chief executive Michael Wilkins speaks to Australian Banking & Finance Magazine about his mission to get the organisation back on track.(NEWS)
July 30, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Experts believe National Australia Bank's decision to walk away from ABN AMRO Australia doesn't necessarily mean its efforts to acquire an investment bank is over and that it may be exploring other options in the...

Westpac takes over Tongan operation.(NEWS)
July 30, 2008... Westpac Banking Corp has bought the 40 per cent stake held by the Government of Tonga in Westpac Bank of Tonga for an undisclosed sum. The bank would only say it bought the share "at a fair market price". It means Westpac now has...

Vote for our best insurers for 2008.(NEWS)
July 30, 2008... Voting is now open for Australian Banking & Finance Magazine's sixth annual Insurance Awards. The prestigious event was established six years ago to acknowledge key players in the thriving Australian insurance industry and has since grown...

Australian Banking & Finance Magazine in new hands.(NEWS)
July 30, 2008... Australian Financial Publications Pty Ltd is pleased to announce the merging of Australia's preeminent business publication, Australian Banking & Finance Magazine, with InAssociation magazines and events. "We are honoured and very excited...

New IT chief at Westpac.(NEWS)(Bob McKinnon, Peter Hanlon and Peter Clare)(Brief article)
July 30, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bob McKinnon, former chief information officer at Commonwealth Bank, has been appointed as Westpac's new IT boss. McKinnon, who worked at Commonwealth Bank from 2000 to 2006, replaces Simon McNamara, who has...

Industry has the answers: Reserve Bank of Australia told to stop meddling in the affairs of the cards payment industry and to get on with looking after the country's economy, at the 5th International Consumer Credit Card Summit.(NEWS)
July 30, 2008... Commonwealth Bank of Australia and a leading economist have slammed the Reserve Bank of Australia for its threat of more regulation for the Australian payments sector. Since 2002, the Reserve Bank of Australia has cut by about 50 per cent...

Rushing to get to the heart of the matter: as the banking sector--led by Commonwealth Bank of Australia--starts to reconsider and update their core operations in the wake of changing customer expectations and an ever-evolving environment, experts warn of the challenges they face, with some apprehensive over the ability of the sector to handle the stampede.(NEWS)(banking industries modernisation program)
July 30, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As the Big Four banks in Australia gear up to undertake core banking replacements, Clayton Ellis, account executive, EDS Australia, is skeptical that the market can support such a move. "I would say it is hard to...

Forget the cash, go with technology.(NEWS)
July 30, 2008... New figures show Australians are leading the way when it comes to using less cash and are more willing to embrace new technologies, such as contactless payments, than many other countries. According to a MasterCard Worldwide global survey...

Consumer Credit Card Summit.(EVENT--PICTORIAL)
July 30, 2008... Australian Banking & Finance Magazine's 5th International Consumer Credit Card Summit, was another successful event for Australia's leading payments industry professionals. The day, sponsored by MasterCard, saw more than 300 delegates hear from...

Hands on deck: since taking over the reigns of CEO Citibank, Citi Australia's consumer banking business eight weeks ago, Roy Gori tells Australian Banking & Finance Magazine he has been busy looking into what is working and what is not.(NEWS)(Company overview)
July 30, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Despite their US parent's well documented troubles this year, executives at Citi Australia are remaining the eternal optimists. Roy Gori said the optimism could be put down to earlier work undertaken at the bank....

St. George revs up securitisation market.(NEWS)
July 30, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] St. George has priced more than A$1.2 billion of securities in one of the biggest asset-backed securitisation deals of the year. Crusade ABS Series 2008-2 Trust is backed by auto loan receivables and will be...

Banks lead the way but there's more to be done: a recent study has shown that the Australian financial services industry must be better prepared for the risks and opportunities of Climate Change.(NEWS)
July 30, 2008... There is no doubt that Climate Change is on the radar of those in the Australian financial services industry. With the Rudd Government making plenty of noise about ways it intends to tackle Climate Change, it would be hard for the sector not to...

Green Paper given thumbs up.(NEWS)(Australian Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme)(Brief article)
July 30, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA) and the Australian Council for Super Investors (ACSI) have given the thumbs up to the Federal Government's Green Paper on the establishment of an Australian...

Australian Banking & Finance Magazine's recent 5th International Consumer Credit Card Summit was the last for MasterCard's Leigh Clapham, who will take up a role with the European operations for the credit card company.(BEHIND THE SCREENS)
July 30, 2008... Australian Banking & Finance Magazine's recent 5th International Consumer Credit Card Summit was the last for MasterCard's Leigh Clapham, who will take up a role with the European operations for the credit card company. From all of us here at...

MC of the Summit, the Nine Network's Ross Greenwood, told the audience Leigh and himself shared a common interest: cricket.(BEHIND THE SCREENS)
July 30, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] MC of the Summit, the Nine Network's Ross Greenwood, told the audience Leigh and himself shared a common interest: cricket. "We basically have always had most of our major clashes on the sporting field, generally...

Before commencing his presentation at the summit, a nearly-bald Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, the head economic adviser for MasterCard, told the audience the summit had had a profound impact on him--but not in a good way.(BEHIND THE SCREENS)
July 30, 2008... Before commencing his presentation at the summit, a nearly-bald Dr Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, the head economic adviser for MasterCard, told the audience the summit had had a profound impact on him--but not in a good way. "Five years ago when I started...

Given he is a Kiwi but he runs an iconic company in Australia, a country which has recently installed a New Zealander as coach of the Wallabies, Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ralph Norris was asked at the Summit who he would support in the upcoming Bledisloe Test on August 2.(BEHIND THE SCREENS)
July 30, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Given he is a Kiwi but he runs an iconic company in Australia, a country which has recently installed a New Zealander as coach of the Wallabies, Commonwealth Bank chief executive Ralph Norris was asked at the Summit...

Insurance companies should have a Sustainable IT Strategy.(NEWS)
July 30, 2008... In a previous article we highlighted how Insurance companies are working to combat the challenge of climate change (Volume 16, Number 16, 2007). Recent research by Gartner, a leading IT research house, and the results of emissions reporting by...