Australian Banking & Finance articles from March 2003

Australian Banking & Finance archives from March 2003

Pressure builds on payments strategies: at a time when banks are focusing on revenues as a top priority for 2003, the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has warned that the payment business--long considered the `cornerstone of the banking franchise'--could fall by as much as 29% over the next seven years.
March 17, 2003... According to the consultancy group, payments contribute 35% of a large bank's total revenue, either via fees made directly on payment transactions such as credit cards or from fees and interest margins on accounts. The report cited...

ANZ reorganizes personal banking, wealth division.(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... ANZ HAS HADE CHANGES TO THE internal organisation of its personal banking and wealth management division to put more focus on its growth priorities. Banking and transaction services--a new specialist business headed by Craig Coleman has...

CUA establishes new financial planner. (Current Account).(Credit Union Australia)(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... AUSTRALIA'S LARGEST CREDIT union Credit Union Australia (CUA) has created a wholly-owned subsidiary to assist its members with financial planning and wealth creation. CUA's head of financial planning Paul Geisel said CUA had established...

Are you prepared for licensing regime? (Current Account).(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... FINANCIAL SERVICES PROVIDERS that have not yet prepared for financial services licensing under new Financial Services Reform Laws run the risk of not being able to practice on March 11 next year, warns KPMG. The deadline for having a...

Banking world. (Current Account).(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... Customer signs the contract for buying a car at the showroom of Toyota-Astra Motors in central Jakarta. PT Bank Danamon, one of seven banks is selling this year, plans to increase loans in 2003 by focusing on housing and auto loans as it seeks...

Monster to embark on recruitment drive. (Current Account).(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... MONSTER, THE WORLD'S LEADING careers web site, is set to embark on a massive recruitment drive within Australia's accounting and finance sector. Monster's president, Asia Pacific Craig Kennedy said thousands of accounting and finance...

Securenet, ANZ launch Indentrus. (Current Account).(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... LEADING E-SECURITY PROVIDER SecureNet and ANZ Banking Group have launched Australia's first Identrus platform. The jointly developed Identrus platform is the first of its kind in Australia. SecureNet is servicing ANZ with the products,...

Financial institutions warned on laundering. (Current Account).
March 17, 2003... AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL institutions who ignore the warning sign sent by the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA) when it fined the Royal Bank of Scotland plc 750,000 [pounds sterling] for breaching its money laundering rules, do so at their...

On the record. (Current Account).(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... "The test of any strategy is how it copes with stresses in the market. Our strategy is standing up well." AXA ASIA PACIFIC CHIEF EXECUTIVE LES OWEN ANNOUNCING A 14% RISE IN ANNUAL PROFIT TO $316 MILLION. "Any of us that are paid by the...

Insurers ready for any market upturn: IAG was the star performer in the latest round of results from insurers and investment companies. Its result far exceeded market expectations despite a voltile investment climate. Axa had a solid result, continuing its slow recovery, but the AMP had a shocker and faces an extremely uncertain future. (News).
March 17, 2003... BAD... AMP FELL INTO THE RED AND CUT ITS DIVIDEND, HAMMERED by its ailing British arm, and warned 2003 was uncertain with all forces pushing earnings lower in Britain. Matching a warning issued in January, AMP posted a calendar 2002...

Rabobank consolidates Australian operations. (News).
March 17, 2003... AFTER 13 YEARS DEVELOPING ITS business in the Australian market, the world's leading food and agribusiness banking specialist Rabobank is consolidating its local operations under the one brand. The move will see the Primary Industry Bank of...

Commonsense approach works for UBS chief. (News).
March 17, 2003... GORDON DICKINSON, CHAIRMAN and joint chief executive of UBS Warburg, has been in the investment banking game for 24 years. Educated at Marcus Oldman agricultural college in Victoria, the country boy from western Victoria always intended to...

Future bankers will travel more. (News).
March 17, 2003... INSTEAD OF PACKING UP AND moving abroad for three years, tomorrow's global executive may `commute' more often, live in a new nation for less than a year or permanently move to a new country, according to a study. This finding is among...

Mistakes in recruitment can be costly. (executive suite).
March 17, 2003... IN THE AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK, the purchase of a horse is never settled until the saddle and blanket have been removed--for fear of overlooking a hidden flaw on the animal's back. That's why it always surprises me when a company hires a top...

World finance conference. (News).(World Financial Services Conference)(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... AUSTRALIA WILL HOST ONE OF the most Important financial services conferences ever in November. Keynote speakers are likely to include the chairman of the US Federal Reserve Dr Alan Greenspan, Prime Minister John Howard and Treasurer Peter...

Floats rise, but profits fall. (News).(Australian Stock Exchange)
March 17, 2003... DESPITE A FALL IN THE MARKET in 2002, a small increase in float activity saw the total value of new listings on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) more than double, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The report showed 42...

Major change in executive ranks: CEO changes at AMP, Suncorp-Metway and Deutsche Bank and a swag of positional movements among the top tier of management in the financial services industry highlight this year's Top 50 list. (Special feature: top 50 people in banking & finance).
March 17, 2003... Andrew Hohl replaced Paul Batchelor as head of AHP while former CBA top executive John Mulcahy took over from Steve Jones as managing director of Queensland's Suncorp-Metway. And Chum Darvall replaced Ken Borda, who was promoted and moved...

B2B payment cards: bringing efficiencies to corporate and government purchases. (Advertorial).
March 17, 2003... Purchasing Cards. Corporate Cards. Commercial Cards. P-Cards. Fleet Cards. They go by many descriptions and can be configured in numerous ways to meet specific needs. At heart, though, business to business payment cards may be the best tools...

Insurers prefer to build technology solutions. (New Economy Banker).
March 17, 2003... MORE INSURERS ARE CHOOSING to buy rather than build technology solutions whenever possible. Celent Communications' latest report offers 20 questions as a guide to evaluating prospective technology suppliers. It is designed to maximise...

Data quality--the missing piece of the CRM puzzle. (New Economy Banker).(customer relationship management)
March 17, 2003... CRM STRATEGIES LIVE OR DIE BY the intelligence they can draw out of their data. Intelligence is derived using a combination of data warehousing, advanced analytics and business intelligence. But that intelligence is only as good as the...

Association aims to raise industry standards: a new organisation--the SMSF Professionals' Association (SPA)--has been formed to support and help educate financial planners as they tackle the minefield of legislative changes surrounding self-managed superannuation funds. (News).
March 17, 2003... The Association's core focus is to promote education for financial planners and other SMSF professionals, to raise industry standards and assist them as they grapple with the Financial Services Reform laws. SPA is working closely with the...

Hidden cost dangers online. (News).(online banking)(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... ONLINE BANKING ADOPTION WILL continue unabated this year, but there are some hidden cost dangers for banks, according to Forrester Research. Last year Forrester predicted online banking would get back to basics after three years of "chasing...

Non-residential construction boom rolls on. (News).
March 17, 2003... WHILE AUSTRALIA HAS ENJOYED a much-publicised housing construction boom, building approvals in the non-residential sector are approaching levels not seen since the late 80s. Westpac Institutional Bank economist Justin McCarthy said that in...

Panel discussion luncheon success. (People).(Brief Article)
March 17, 2003... Australian Banking & Finance newsmagazine held a luncheon in Sydney featuring four of the winners of our 2002 Awards. ANZ chief executive John McFarlane, St George CFO Steve McKerihan, Deutsche Bank managing director Chum Darvall and the...

Behind the screens. (News).
March 17, 2003... At a time when the mere mention of executive salaries incites public outrage, AMP boss Andrew Mohl's comments on receiving a bonus of $1 million on top of a base pay packet of $954,000 appeared almost acceptable. "I worked as hard as I could...

CBA embraces online security. (News).(Commonwealth Bank of Australia)
March 17, 2003... IN A MOVE THAT WILL PROVIDE credit card users and merchants additional protection and security in making online transactions, Mastercard has launched SecureCode, a unique online credit card authentication system with the Commonwealth Bank of...

Insurance industry comfortable.(outlook for Australian general insurance industry is stable)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... THE OUTLOOK FOR THE AUSTRALIAN general insurance industry is stable, says Fitch Ratings, the international rating agency. This reflects the industry's good profitability prospects in the hardening rate environment, the greater probability...

Bank branch opening hit mortgage brokers.(Mortgage broking industry unlikely to grow to levels some industry participants have forecast in next few years)
March 31, 2003... THE MORTGAGE BROKING INDUSTRY IS unlikely to grow to the levels some industry participants have forecast in the next few years as the hanks lift their efforts, customers embrace known brands and the electronic age develops. Some mortgage...

MasterCard, Visa launch dual, challenge. (Current Account).(MasterCard International and Visa International agree to dual court hearing when they challenge sweeping credit card reforms )(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... GLOBAL CREDIT CARD COMPANIES MasterCard International and Visa International have agreed to a dual court hearing when they challenge sweeping credit card reforms in Australia in May. MasterCard said Australia's Federal Court had ruled both...

Macquarie buys agriculture unit. (Current Account).(Macquarie Bank buys Zurich Capital Market's international agricultural commodities)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... MACQUARIE BANK HAS ACQUIRED Zurich Capital Market's international agricultural commodities business following Zurich's recent decision to exit the market. The purchase of the business, which has underlying transactions with a face value of...

Banking world. (Current Account).(HSBC Holdings Plc reports doubling in 2nd-half profit)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Sir John Bond, group chairman of HSBC Holdings Plc listens at a press conference in London this month. HSBC Holdings Plc, the world's third-largest bank by market value, reported a doubling in second-half profit on tower loan Losses as the...

ING Direct pays out $500m in interest. (Current Account).(ING Direct Australia)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... DESPITE BANK FEES, RISING DEBT levels and the performance of managed funds, there are some satisfied banking customers--ING Direct has paid over $500 million in interest to its customers since Launching in Australia in August, 1999. ING...

Credit union beats home lending record. (Current Account).(Credit Union Australia reaches new monthly lending record, topping $60 million in 2/03)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... CREDIT UNION AUSTRALIA HAS reached a new monthly lending record, topping $60 million in February. CUA managing director Graham Olrich said the credit union was riding a wave of popularity, underpinned by a new branding campaign and...

Payments industry favours electronic medium. (Current Account).
March 31, 2003... ELECTRONIC PAYMENTS CONTINUE to gain share at the expense of cash and cheques. New TowerGroup research finds that as the percentage of electronic transactions continues to increase, so does competition among new technologies to become the...

On the record. (Current Account).(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... "It's something you don't do easily, but we've had a hard look at the place to see where we could improve efficiency and that's what we've done." BANKWEST MANAGING DIRECTOR TERRY BUDGE, ANNOUNCING PLANS TO CUT 200 STAFF. "Within...

Mulcahy stamps authority with executive restructure. (News).(organisational restructure within Suncorp)
March 31, 2003... AS A RESULT OF THE STRATEGIC review being undertaken within Suncorp, chief executive John Mulcahy has announced an organisational restructure to drive improved financial performance and greater customer focus. The reorganisation is along...

Banks act on fraud prevention. (News).
March 31, 2003... THE BANKING INDUSTRY HAS mobilised its attack on fraud prevention. The fraud taskforce, convened by the Australian Bankers' Association, has started three major projects aiming to improve fraud prevention for the community. They area:...

Beattie to present awards. (News).
March 31, 2003... THE PREMIER OF QUEENSLAND Peter Beattie will be a guest speaker and presenter at the 13th annual Australian Banking & Finance newsmagazine Awards in Sydney on Nay 20. Beattie will join Graeme Samuel, a leading contender to take over as...

Cashcard acquires Movieline. (News).(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... REINFORCING ITS MARKET position as Australia's leading provider of ATM management services, Cashcard has acquired the unique Movieline ATM network. Cashcard has also embarked on a major rollout of ATMs to Woolworths + Plus Petrol outlets...

World finance conference to attract broad audience. (News).
March 31, 2003... AUSTRALIA WILL HOST one of the most important financial services conferences ever in November. Keynote speakers are likely to include the chairman of the US Federal Reserve Dr Alan Greenspan, Prime Minister John Howard and Treasurer Peter...

Bluestone establishes charter. (News).(Bluestone Mortgages)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... BLUESTONE MORTGAGES HAS taken the first step towards self-regulation in the non-conforming market by launching the sector's first customer charter. The charter establishes the key operating principles that Bluestone has built into its...

Financial institutions lagging on compliance. (News).
March 31, 2003... DESPITE THE LOOMING DEADLINE for getting a licence under the Financial Services Reform Act and a strong commitment by boards and senior management, financial services companies still have a long way to go in terms of implementing effective...

Royal & Sun worth $2.3bn. (News).(Royal & Sun Alliance PLC)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... ROYAL & SUN ALLIANCE PLC'S Australian and New Zealand operations have been valued at about $2.3 billion by one of the banks involved in the British insurer's float plans. Royal & Sun's local general and life insurance businesses were worth...

New Master of Finance degree aims to be no 1. (News).(University of NSW)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... THE NEW MASTER OF FINANCE Postgraduate Degree launched recently by the Faculty Of Commerce and Economics at the University of NSW aims to be Australia's premier postgraduate program for practising professionals in the financial services sector....

Regionals hold their own. (News).(regional banks)
March 31, 2003... THE AUSTRALIAN REGIONAL banking sector has clearly held its own over the past year, reporting double-digit asset growth for the second consecutive year, according to a survey by KPMG. KPMG's 2002 Regional Banking Survey reveals that overall...

Leaders must change course: Morgan: Westpac chief executive David Morgan says business leaders need a new attitude to corporate governance to restore community confidence. But in a speech to business leaders this month, he warns against a "quick fix" to rebuild community trust. An edited text of the speech follows. (News).(Transcript)
March 31, 2003... We have all heard it said recently that business in Australia today faces a crisis of confidence and trust. Personally, I dislike the word "crisis" which has an air of hopelessness and finality about it. It is a word best reserved for...

National's UK chief to create `national giant': National Australia Bank plans to take on Britain's fiercely competitive retail banks and create a UK national giant, its incoming European chief executive says. (News).(John Stewart)
March 31, 2003... John Stewart ran mortgage and savings bank Woolwich until it was taken over by Barclays Bank in 2000 and he became head of the group's personal finance business. But he has now left the UK high street giant and becomes NAB's European chief...

ROI-measuring success in STP. (STP News).(return on investment, straight-through processing)
March 31, 2003... US-BASED CARBONBASED CONSULTING recently conducted a survey of 230 buy-side decision makers to assess where they would be allocating resources for STP related IT spending in 2003. White their findings on this year's planned IT spend were very...

FX trading platforms seen pulling in corporates. (STP News).(foreign exchange)
March 31, 2003... CURRENCY TRADING PLATFORMS are winning more business and many companies are likely to switch to trading currencies online this year, industry specialists said on Friday. Corporates and asset managers have been slow to move to online...

HK banks do it tough in wealth push. (International).(Hong Kong)
March 31, 2003... WITH LOAN DEMAND DEPRESSED and interest margins squeezed, Hong Kong banks are scrambling is sell more investment products such as equity-and debt-related funds to beast non-interest income and shore up their bottom lines. But analysts say...

Investment banks warned on securities distribution. (International).(emphasis on securities distribution in the U.S. may hurt financial services industry)
March 31, 2003... NEW YORK, THE FINANCIAL services industry appears to be emphasising securities distribution and may be headed the wrong way, says Richard Bove, an analyst with Hoefer & Arnett. Bove, in a research note, pointed to recent developments such...

Security unlocks business opportunity. (News).
March 31, 2003... FROM THE SILK ROAD linking Asia and Africa to the tribal migration routes of the Pacific, there have always been vast networks for commerce. And with any commerce network Comes crime. Modern global, electronic wired and wireless...

Banks pursue sophisticated warehousing applications; a "grunge" rock band--not likely anyone's image of an ideal banking client--suddenly deposited a seven-figure cheque into its account at a large financial institution. (Special Feature-Store & Data Warehousing).
March 31, 2003... The institution immediately went to work, flagged by its data warehouse, drew on both internal and external data to tailor a comprehensive financial plan across business lines to address the band's unique needs. The day following the...

Difficulties in storage administration: most medium and large Australian organisations are experiencing difficulties or concerns with storage administration, according to a survey by StorageTek, the storage services and solutions expert. (Special Feature-Storage & Data Warehousing).
March 31, 2003... With most organisations facing rapidly growing storage requirements and static or declining storage budgets, storage consolidation is the favoured approach to help cut storage and management costs. "Almost all organisations are experiencing...

Assessing the cost of storage ownership: Harry Christian, Australia and New Zealand marketing manager for storage vendor Network Appliance looks at where the data storage business has come from and where it's likely headed. He doesn't have a crystal ball but he's certain of one thing--the storage evolution isn't finished yet. (Special Feature-Storage & Data Warehousing).(Industry Overview)
March 31, 2003... The line `The Evolution of Storage' that our company has added to its recent advertising couldn't be more appropriate to the way the industry is heading. And that evolution continues to be very fast moving even by the galloping norms of...

A strong SRM solution will deliver value to customers. (Special Feature-Storage & Data Warehousing).(storage resource management)
March 31, 2003... THE PROMISE OF STORAGE resource management (SRM) is that it can help storage administrators meet challenging goats and may ultimately reduce business risk. This involves improving storage utilisation, reducing administration costs, meeting...

Les Hosking is on the move. (behind the screens).(joins National Electricity Market Management Co.)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Les Hosking is on the move. Come June he will leave his role as chief executive of Axiss Australia to become chief of the National Electricity Market Management Co. Hosking has headed Axiss since January 2000 and can take much credit for the...

Former National Australia Bank senior executive Steve Targett has done well for himself in deciding to jump ship and join Lloyds TSB in London. (behind the screens).(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Former National Australia Bank senior executive Steve Targett has done well for himself in deciding to jump ship and join Lloyds TSB in London. Lloyds, the No 5 lender in the UK, is allowing Targett, the new head of wholesale banking, to buy...

Westpac told the market late last year its head of institutional banking David Willis had decided to take a sabbatical, and appointed Phil Coffey in his place. (behind the screens).(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Westpac told the market late last year its head of institutional banking David Willis had decided to take a sabbatical, and appointed Phil Coffey in his place. Take it from us, the sabbatical, is permanent. Willis won't return to Westpac.

Competition in the insurance business is intense and some players are turning to gimmicks to win business. (behind the screens).(St. Andrew's Insurance)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Competition in the insurance business is intense and some players are turning to gimmicks to win business. St Andrew's Insurance has been sending CEOs of credit unions and building societies plastic shovels with the message that joining them...

Westpac boss David Morgan used a Titanic analogy to describe business in Australia at a CEDA luncheon recently. (behind the screens).(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Westpac boss David Morgan used a Titanic analogy to describe business in Australia at a CEDA luncheon recently. "It was clear that had proper precautions been taken, the iceberg would have been detected, the captain would have been on the...

The CBA has won one in the poaching league, appointing career branch banking senior executive David Marshall as executive general manager, retail sates and service. (behind the screens).(Commonwealth Bank of Australia)(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... The CBA has won one in the poaching league, appointing career branch banking senior executive David Marshall as executive general manager, retail sates and service. Reporting directly to Hugh Harley, head of retail banking services, Marshall...

Screens hears St George CEO Gail Kelly is not getting along too well with one of her senior management team. (behind the screens).(Brief Article)
March 31, 2003... Screens hears St George CEO Gail Kelly is not getting along too well with one of her senior management team. He's looking around, we're told, so don't be surprised to see some movement soon.

Fostering small business. (News).
March 31, 2003... REPORTS FROM BANKS OVERSEAS of progress in fostering the small business market indicates that the branch remains the best platform for building relationships with this segment. Small business requires a variety of products together with a...