Australian Banking & Finance articles from May 2005

Australian Banking & Finance archives from May 2005

Kelly voted best executive ANZ takes best financial institution and business bank: the managing director and chief executive of St George Bank Gail Kelly has been voted Best Financial Services Executive by our readers for the third year in succession in the 15th annual Australian Banking & Finance newsmagazine Awards.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)(Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.)(Cover Story)
May 15, 2005... ANZ Bank was named Best Financial Instituion and also took out the inaugural award for 2005 for Best Business Bank, while Virgin Money was voted Best Non-Bank Financial Institution. Macquarie Bank continued its domination of the Best...

Kelly trumps award for the third year: voted top executive for the third year in a row Gail Kelly was appointed St George Group's managing director and chief executive officer on 14 January 2002.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)(Gail Kelly; St George Bank Ltd.)(Cover Story)
May 15, 2005... BEST FINANCIAL SERVICES EXECUTIVE Gail Kelly NOMINEES: David Liddy, Bank of Queensland John McFarlane, ANZ David Morgan, Westpac Allan Moss, Macquarie Bank John Mulcahy, Suncorp Metway Anthony Wamsteker,...

McFarlane says more to do on revenue side: ANZ is one of the world's largest banks serving more than 5 million customers with assets of $247 billion.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)(John McFarlane., Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.)
May 15, 2005... BEST FINANCIAL INSTITUTION ANZ The company employs more than 28,000 people and is represented in their primary markets of Australia and New Zealand, as well as Asia, the Pacific, UK/ Europe and the United States. In April this...

Virgin shakes up superannuation: Virgin Money is set to shake up Australia's $650 billion superannuation industry after securing an investment of up to AUD$30 million from the Virgin Group--the largest investment ever for Sir Richard Branson in Australia.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)(Virgin Money.,)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2005... BEST NON-BANK FINANCIAL INSTITUTION Virgin Money Virgin Superannuation will launch as a retail super fund on 1 July 2005 when Choice of Fund legislation takes force and approximately 5.7 million employees can choose for the first time...

Experienced in finance: Greg Ward is Chief Financial Officer and Head of Corporate Affairs. He is also a member of the Bank's Executive Committee.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2005... BEST CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Greg Ward NOMINEES: Michael Cameron, CBA Phil Chronican, Westpac Peter Marriott, ANZ Steve McKerihan St George Michael Ullmer, NAB He joined Macquarie on listing in 1996 and was...

ANZ: systematically increasing market share.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)(Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.)
May 15, 2005... BEST BUSINESS BANK ANZ In addition to ANZ announcing their interim cash earnings, which CEO John McFarlane said was a respectable result, he also commented on each of ANZ's business divisions saying that "in personal banking Australia...

ING Direct continues strong growth: ING Direct continues to demonstrate the success of its branchless banking model with a profit after tax of $90.5 million for the year ended 31 December 2004.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)
May 15, 2005... BEST FOREIGN BANK ING Direct The pioneer of high interest and fee free savings accounts in Australia, ING Direct CEO Vaughn Richtor said the very satisfying result was up 16 percent from $77.9 million in 2003. He said while...

Suncorp: record interim profit: diversified financial services group Suncorp has reported a 47 percent increase in net profit to $413 million for the six months to December 2004.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)(Suncorp-Metway Ltd.)
May 15, 2005... BEST REGIONAL BANK Suncorp Metway The group also declared an interim dividend of 42 cents per share fully franked, up from 30 cents for the first half of 2004. Suncorp chairman John Story said the first half of the 2005 financial year...

TeleNet strikes note with banking consumers.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)(BankWest TeleNet Ltd.)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2005... The BankWest TeleNet deposit account was launched in October 2004 and hit an instant chord with Australian banking consumers who have flocked to take up the offer in droves, smashing the bank's original targets and helping to establish...

Macquarie dominates investment category: Macquarie Bank is a pre-eminent provider of investment banking and financial services.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2005... BEST INVESTMENT BANK Macquarie Bank In Australasia, Macquarie provides a full range of investment, financial market and advisory products and services. Internationally they focus on select markets where they are able to provide special...

CUA: innovation in banking: Credit Union Australia (CUA) has introduced a new and innovative way to ensure members are in touch with their savings anytime day or night.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)
May 15, 2005... BEST CREDIT UNION Credit Union Australia CUA introduced SMS banking across the country to give members the option of managing their money literally at the touch of a button. Managing director, Graham Olrich, said the new SMS...

Heritage makes it four in a row: the Toowoomba based mutual celebrates 130 years of service, and the financial services industry milestone of managing $5 billion in total assets.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)(Heritage Building Society Ltd.)
May 15, 2005... BEST BUILDING SOCIETY Heritage Building Society These two historic achievements strengthen its status as one of the nations most established and trusted financial services institutions. Chairman, Brian Carter said the achievements...

Nigel Symth joined Macquarie Bank in 1999 to manage IT for the Investment Banking and Equity Markets groups. In September 2002 he moved to the role of CIO with overall responsibility for IT in Macquarie.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)(Macquarie Bank Ltd.)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2005... Prior to joining Macquarie, Nigel worked in various roles in the IT and investment banking industries at organisations such as Price Waterhouse, J P Morgan, Natwest Markets and Deutsche Bank. He is originally from Northern Ireland and has a...

Revolutionary rewards: HSBC launched its new Home Rewards loan with an integrated marketing campaign on the 14th March 2005, including press, magazines, radio, online, direct mail, outbound telemarketing and branch point-of-sale.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)
May 15, 2005... BEST BANKING AND FINANCE PROMOTION HCBC This category was a 'write in' category whereby readers were asked to make their own nominations "HSBC's Home Rewards Loan is revolutionary," said HSBC's head of marketing Darren...

HSBC: a wealth of information: HSBC Bank Australia has launched a number of online initiatives over the past several years including its internet trading service in August 1999, the country's first internet economic forum for retail investors via its netTrader website in April 2000 and internet banking for personal customers in 2001.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)
May 15, 2005... BEST WEBSITE HSBC This category was a 'write in' category whereby readers were asked to make their own nominations Today, the bank's website offers a wealth of information and services for personal, commercial and corporate...

The leading choice: formed in Sydney in 1992, Mortgage Choice has grown to be the country's leading mortgage broker.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)
May 15, 2005... BEST MORTGAGE BROKER Mortgage Choice The company's biggest milestone so far is its listing on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) in August of last year. This positioned the company as the first pure-play national mortgage broker to...

Hall of fame: Frank Conroy.(2005 AUSTRALIAN BANKING AND FINANCE AWARDS)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2005... Frank Conroy, aged 62, is a professional company director. A former career banker with extensive experience in banking and credit assessment, Conroy was chief executive officer and managing director of Westpac for 32 years, resigning in 1992....

BOQ loan insurance partnership.(Bank of Queensland Ltd.)(Brief Article)
May 15, 2005... A strategic partnership between Bank of Queensland and St Andrew's Australia provides Bank of Queensland borrowers with a new product that offers peace of mind in meeting their loan repayments, according to the Bank of Queensland. The bank...

ANZ outlook 'positive' for '05: good first half results: Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) announced an operating profit after tax of $1,492 million for the half-year ended 31 March 2005, and cash earnings per share of 85.9 cents, up 8.9 percent *.
May 15, 2005... ANZ chief executive officer John McFarlane said: "This is a respectable result in a rising rate environment and a highly competitive market. We are ahead of market expectations but there is more to do on the revenue side, "Eight years ago...

The use of online data rooms for mergers and acquisitions.(NEWS)
May 15, 2005... INCREASINGLY CORPORATIONS are looking for quicker and more effective ways of doing business. Advances in technology and the Internet has led to a more efficient way for organisations to conduct mergers and acquisitions through the use of online...

Beating the Basel II blues: financial institutions are in the business of managing risk, which is why they're subject to high levels of regulatory supervision and control.(NEWS)
May 15, 2005... The Basel II program--a directive designed to harmonise international banking and risk management regulations--takes this one step further, giving auditors the power to demand proof of compliance control and management oversight. Coupled...

Liquidity and working capital funding: SMEs and smaller commercial companies seeking non asset based lending.(small and medium business enterprises)
May 15, 2005... A SIGNIFICANT OPPORTUNITY TO RESPOND to companies in the lower end of the middle markets and SME segments which are crying out for liquidity funding is seemingly being missed by Australia's mainstream commercial banks. Businesses in these...

Broker business recovery hits $12.9 bn.(NEWS)
May 15, 2005... MISC ANNOUNCED A 12 PERCENT recovery in broker home loan business that saw $12.9 billion in broker loans written in the December 2004 quarter. This was the result of 11 percent more broker activity for that quarter. Nearly 400 brokers...

Heritage celebrates 130 years: Australia's largest building society, Heritage, is celebrating two historic achievements that strengthen its status as one of the nation's most established and trusted financial services institutions.(Brief Article)
May 15, 2005... The Toowoomba based mutual celebrates 130 years of service, and the financial services industry milestone of managing $5 billion in total assets. Heritage chairman, Brian Carter says the achievements reinforce Heritage's status as Australia's...

St George SME Awards.( Small and Medium Enterprises )
May 15, 2005... First Charlton Communications are pleased to introduce the St. George SME Awards, Australia's first national program recognising best practice amongst Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The awards are organised on business size (based on the...

Top speakers comment on credit cards.
May 15, 2005... Australian Banking & Finance last month presented the 2nd International Consumer Credit Cards Summit in Sydney which was supported by MasterCard International and focused on topics such as consumer payments, female spending patterns, increased...

Points or pointless.(Brief Article)
May 15, 2005... With John Symond beating the drum about the "rod" in the credit card market some hot debate was only to be expected at last month's International Consumer Credit Card Summit in Sydney. Aussie John, of course, thinks rewards are "pointless"....

Scottish John and his new shops.(Brief Article)
May 15, 2005... John McFarlane may have confounded his critics at ANZ's recent results conference where a record half-yearly profit of $1.5 billion was largely attributed to opening new branches while others were doing their best to cut costs. McFarlane...

Aussie notes practically indestructible.(currency notes, Note Printing Australia )(Brief Article)
May 15, 2005... Note Printing Australia has become a victim of its own success, it seems. In what can politely be described as a somewhat esoteric pre-bidding process administered by the Kenyan government, polymer and polymer substrate notes such as those in...

Capital gains.(Brief Article)
May 15, 2005... "Incredibly, my research shows the universe is expanding at precisely the same rate as the U.S. budget deficit." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Online banking continues to rise.(Market Intelligence Strategy Centre reports)
May 15, 2005... Market Intelligence Strategy Centre (MISE) announced recently that after several quarters of low new-registration growth rates, the bank players in the internet banking channel have encouraged nearly half a million new users to sign up to their...