Australian Banking & Finance articles from May 2007

Australian Banking & Finance archives from May 2007

Melbourne stakes claim as funds management centre: according to the Treasurer of Victoria, John Brumby, his state is emerging as a significant regional hub for the funds management sector.
May 15, 2007... Speaking at a recent executive roundtable luncheon--hosted by Australian Banking & Finance magazine and sponsored by Optus--John Brumby has argued that Victoria enjoys a growing status as a global centre for funds management in the Asia-Pacific...

Best state treasurer?(John Brumby)(Brief article)
May 15, 2007... JOHN BRUMBY, WHO SPOKE AT AUSTRALIAN BANKING & FINANCE magazine's recent executive roundtable luncheon, sponsored by Optus, is almost universally acknowledged as Australia's best state treasurer. Brumby is currently the longest serving of...

CBA's Grimshaw focuses on business banking.(NEWS)
May 15, 2007... THE COMMONWEALTH BANK'S HEAD OF premium business services, Stuart Grimshaw, has told Australian Banking & Finance magazine that he is determined to improve his institution's long-term performance in the business banking market. In this...

Australia's investment funds the largest in Asia Pacific: according to a recent Axiss Australia Data Alert, Australia's investment funds asset pool continues to be the fourth largest in the world.(NEWS)
May 15, 2007... Axiss Australia is a division of Australia's inward investment agency, Invest Australia, and seeks to position Australia as a global financial services centre in the Asian time zone. The Data Alert draws on September quarter 2006 statistics...

David Koch Australia's best finance journalist.(NEWS)
May 15, 2007... AUSTRALIAN BANKING & FINANCE MAGAZINE READERS HAVE VOTED David Koch as this country's best finance journalist and Inside Business as Australia's best finance-related television program for 2007. David Koch is a respected business and...

Everest Babcock & Brown to expand distribution capabilities.(NEWS)
May 15, 2007... AXISS AUSTRALIA REPORTS that Australian absolute return investment manager, Everest Babcock & Brown (EBB), has appointed Andrew Keay as head of distribution to lead the expansion of the firm's distribution capabilities. Mr Keay joins EBB...

ANZ Reconciliation Action Plan an Australian first: ANZ has launched a Reconciliation Action Plan, which, it says, includes the most significant indigenous employment targets of any leading Australian company.(NEWS)
May 15, 2007... The bank's chief executive officer, John McFarlane, said the plan sets out the steps ANZ would take to help improve the lives of indigenous Australians. "The strongest contribution we can make is to work with indigenous people, families...

MoneySwitch becomes Tyro; payments company MoneySwitch has launched EFTPOS services to Australian merchants trading under its new name Tyro.(NEWS)
May 15, 2007... The change signals the successful completion of the firm's initial technology build-out, accreditation and compliance phase and the delivery of the world-first Internet end-to-end credit and debit card acquiring platform. Tyro is the first...

100F appoints new CEO.(NEWS)
May 15, 2007... FUNDS MANAGEMENT GROUP 100F Holdings has appointed Tony Robinson as its new chief executive officer. From 2001 to 2006, Mr Robinson was chief executive of listed insurance and broking company OAMPS Ltd. Under his tenure, OAMPS grew from...

Aviva offers 'signature-free' applications; Aviva has rolled out its online underwriting platform, Riskfirst, to key advisers around Australia offering totally signature-free applications.(NEWS)
May 15, 2007... The approach has already gained traction within key adviser groups--Aviva received a number of signature-free applications within its first week. And the platform is scheduled for national roll out to all advisers in May. While many...

Life and risk insurance sales up.(NEWS)(Brief article)
May 15, 2007... SALES OF LIFE AND WEALTH protection products have trended strongly upwards in the past 18 months, according to the Investment and Financial Services Association (IFSA). IFSA chief executive officer, Richard Gilbert, believes that a...

Australians have little incentive to save: chief executive officer of ING Direct Australia, Eric Drok, believes that Australians are not given every opportunity and incentive to save, compared with some other markets around the world.(ING Direct's financial report)(Brief article)
May 15, 2007... "A bank can only do so much. A high interest rate and the guarantee of no bank fees are only part of the savings equation," Mr Drok said. "Motivation to save is a really important factor and we see in other countries, like the Netherlands,...

Asian Pacific Advisory Group achieves public company status; Asian Pacific Advisory Group now forms part of Asian Pacific Limited (formerly Tomato Technologies Limited), a company listed on the Australian Stock Exchange, following its acquisition by that company.(NEWS)
May 15, 2007... Asian Pacific Advisory Group is an integrated financial services company based in southeast Queensland. It was initially established in 1988 and now has offices in four countries--Australia, Malaysia, the United Kingdom and Canada. As a public...

The future of outsourcing and offshoring: according to a range of consultants, the trend toward outsourcing and offshoring is here to stay and will no doubt escalate over the next few years. This will bring benefits to Australian financial institutions--along with new problems to solve.(SPECIAL FEATURE: OUTSOURCING AND OFFSHORING)
May 15, 2007... OUTSOURCING AND OFFSHORING in the banking and finance sector is a reality today and, while some organisations are more proactive than others in this activity, global competitive pressures are ensuring that that most will not be able to avoid...

Business process outsourcing: an option for your business? To outsource or not to outsource--the decision requires a thorough examination of factors such as regulatory requirements and potential cultural hurdles.(SPECIAL FEATURE: OUTSOURCING AND OFFSHORING)
May 15, 2007... It seems to take a while for the finance industry to embrace new ideas. And a good thing too in my book. As a business executive, I don't want the people who deal with my mortgage and tend to my deposits to be particularly cutting-edge or...

Executive roundtable luncheon.(OPTUS ROUNDTABLE)(presentation by John Brumby)(Brief article)
May 15, 2007... Senior executives from Melbourne's finance and business community gathered together to hear a presentation from Victoria's Treasurer, John Brumby, at an executive roundtable luncheon that was hosted by Australian Banking & Finance magazine and...

On the record.(Stuart Grimshaw and Nigel Hughes)(Brief article)
May 15, 2007... "It is a good market. There is a lot of mergers and acquisitions activity. The resources sector is going gangbusters. So there are many confident institutional clients out there. And debt is a relatively cheap commodity currently." ...

A pig in our python?(NEWS)
May 15, 2007... AS THE SUB-PRIME MORTGAGE slump unfolds in the US, the question on the industry's mind in Australia has been whether and how the situation will affect us. Experience tells us that US financial stresses tend to inexorably work their way down...