Australian Banking & Finance articles from November 2005

Australian Banking & Finance archives from November 2005

NAB on track for recovery: National Australia Bank managing director and Group Chief Executive, John Stewart said the September 2005 full year results showed cash earnings continued to improve in the September half.(NEWS)
November 15, 2005... "The full year results show the turnaround is on track but we still have much work to do." "Cash earnings for the full year fell 4.4 percent to $3.31 billion compared with $3.46 billion in the 2004 full year as we stabilised the business....

Murray appointed Chairman of the Future Fund Board.
November 15, 2005... THE GOVERNMENT HAS APPOINTED DAVID MURRAY, former Managing Director, Commonwealth Bank, as the Chairman of the Future Fund Board of Guardians. He will oversee an expected $140 billion funds under management within the next 15 years and...

Bird's eye view of financial performance.(NEWS)
November 15, 2005... In today's new--and often uncertain--economy, knowing exactly where you are and how you're doing is more important than ever before. Therefore, a complete, consolidated view of corporate and financial performance is crucial to any...

Driving enhanced customer loyalty and revenue growth in the retail banking sector: branch transformation is a key enabler for success.
November 15, 2005... The retail banking agenda is clearly focused on revenue growth--developing strategies to increase customer share of wallet, decreasing the bank's reliance on interest based income, and differentiating the customer service experience. ...

Suncorp sees strong 2006.(NEWS)(Brief Article)
November 15, 2005... SUNCORP HAS FLAGGED STRONG performances across most of its businesses in 2006. Speaking at the Queensland based banking and insurance firms annual general meeting, managing director John Mulcahy said he expected to grow market share over...

ANZ rings leadership changes.(NEWS)(Graham Hodges, Mark Paton and Jenny Fagg joins Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd)(Brief Article)
November 15, 2005... ANZ RECENTLY ANNOUNCED A raft of changes to its senior management in the aim of ensuring the bank meets its targets of 7-9 percent annual revenue growth and 40 percent cost to income ratio over the next few years. ANZ said meeting these...

GE Money's acquisition of Wizard: GE's Tom Gentile was guest speaker at the Australian Banking & Finance Lecture Series held recently in Sydney. Following is his keynote speech.(NEWS)(Company Profile)
November 15, 2005... "I would like to take you through the process and success of our acquisition of Wizard. It was a significant purchase and adds to Australia representing 17 percent share of total GE Money revenue worldwide. Every company faces strategic...

Visa facilitates global contactless payments with new specification.(NEWS)
November 15, 2005... Visa International Asia Pacific recently announced the release of a global contactless payments specification that will ensure Visa cardholders can use their contactless cards worldwide while still providing issuers with the flexibility to...

Australian hedge funds shine at AsiaHedge Awards 2005.(NEWS)
November 15, 2005... AUSTRALIAN ALTERNATIVE asset class managers shone at the AsiaHedge Awards 2005, held in Hong Kong in October. Australian funds won six out of the 11 awards, including the top award for Best Fund of the Year--won by Basis Capital's Basis Yield...

Cash flow financing: finding its natural place in transaction services.(NEWS)
November 15, 2005... Last month East & Partners released its inaugural Working Capital & Receivables Funding Report in response to bank clients increasingly targeting the cash flow financing needs of SMEs and middle market customers. Commercial banks are...

Japanese financial institutions dominate: it has been said before, but once you add Japanese or Australian financial institutions to the rest of Asia, you skew the statistics for the rest of the region. Asian Banking & Finance takes an in-depth look at Asia's financial institutions with the fattest wallets.(INTERNATIONAL--THE 50 MOST PROFITABLE BANKS IN ASIA)
November 15, 2005... GOLD, SILVER AND BRONZE TO Japan, with Australians occupying fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh positions. No, this is not the prelude to an Olympic medal presentation but rather an illustration of the dominance of the region's leading two...

Enterprise risk management: why banks should risk it: in the current economic-political environment especially, it should come as no surprise that zero risk is a myth.(SPECIAL FEATURE: INFORMATION SECURITY)
November 15, 2005... But some innovative banks--spurred by technological advances and global regulatory mandates to collect and maintain mountains of client and business data--are quickly coming to the realisation that substantially reduced risk isn't just a pipe...

Instilling a risk aware culture in an organisation.(SPECIAL FEATURE: INFORMATION SECURITY)
November 15, 2005... While many people today argue that risk management is good business practice, the inescapable fact is that the world demands it anyway. Regulators across a range of industries now insist that companies have robust risk management practices...

Protect your infrastructure from threats.(SPECIAL FEATURE: INFORMATION SECURITY)
November 15, 2005... IBM CAN HELP YOU PROTECT YOUR infrastructure from threats: Are you planning to launch new applications that will allow your customers on the Internet to access their private information stored on your production systems? Are you confident...

The future of digital security.(SPECIAL FEATURE: INFORMATION SECURITY)
November 15, 2005... Picture this: equipped with your RFID-enabled employee badge in your pocket, you enter your corporate building and take the lift to your office, never having to stop to unlock a door or present an ID card. You enter your office and your...

Future directions in Internet banking security.(SPECIAL FEATURE: INFORMATION SECURITY)
November 15, 2005... We've all read the horror stories about how thousands of dollars have disappeared from a customer's account. Recently I was introduced to a person who had 'lost' $3000 from their account and then had to justify to the bank that this was a...

Developing an advanced security patch and vulnerability management strategy: Neal Gemassmer, Vice President of PatchLink APAC, explains how.(SPECIAL FEATURE: INFORMATION SECURITY)
November 15, 2005... In the first two quarters of 2005 more than 3,780 software vulnerabilities were reported, leaving a wide range of system components and software open to exploits. With the popular operating systems often the key target of worm and virus...

Gentile talks on Wizard.(PICTORIAL--CISCO LECTURE SERIES)
November 15, 2005... Tom Gentile, President and CEO, GE Money Australia & New Zealand. was guest speaker at the recent Australian Banking & Finance Cisco Lecture Series held in Sydney. Michael Tanner and Che Burtonwood of Westpac. Jason Brouwers and David...

Why don't you insource?(News)
November 15, 2005... The pressure on banks to increase customer choice while decreasing costs continues to be an enormous challenge. The global level playing field concept allows large foreign banks to compete locally and hence provide pressure on local banks. ...

No U-turns.(BEHIND THE SCREENS)
November 15, 2005... There have been numerous headlines in the last month regarding the much-vaunted U-turn in Australian banking. Internet is now out, while face-to-face branch service is back in vogue. As Hugh Harley of Commonwealth Bank put it: "We really need...

Only three days?(BEHIND THE SCREENS)(Brief Article)
November 15, 2005... Our good friend Ahmed Fahour (he of the on-again-off-again open plan office) has now announced on behalf of NAB, the things that the bank is trying to steer clear of in its somewhat protracted relaunch. Amongst them, Mr Fahour revealed, was the...

Who's fat and lazy?(BEHIND THE SCREENS)(Brief Article)
November 15, 2005... David Morgan was in good form at the Australia investment conference in New York, we hear, with Westpac achieving a sort of star pupil status as Peter Costello laid the boot into Telstra for not showing up. Mr Morgan suggested that Australian...

Safe as houses?(BEHIND THE SCREENS)
November 15, 2005... Compliance departments around the country are collectively recovering from a fatal heart attack as a certain Joe Ng from Malaysia stood trial in Victoria for bilking loan departments of millions of dollars to feed his gambling habit. His...

Top economists agree--low interest rates to continue: three of Australia's banking economists agreed that the interest rate outlook for 2006 is unlikely to change until the last quarter of calendar 2006.
November 30, 2005... Speaking at Australian Banking & Finance newsmagazine's annual World Financial Services Conference Westpac's Bill Evans, HSBC's John Edwards and CBA's Michael Blythe--all felt interest rates would hold for at least the first six to nine months...

Bird's eye view of financial performance: in today's new--and often uncertain--economy, knowing exactly where you are and how you're doing is more important than ever before.(Financial reporting and analysis )
November 30, 2005... Therefore, a complete, consolidated view of corporate and financial performance is crucial to any organisation's success. But a fast-paced and volatile business environment, combined with rapid merger activity, global expansion, and the...

Creating profitable and rewarding customer relationships in financial services: leveraging business analytics to build customer loyalty and drive revenue growth.(Advertisement)
November 30, 2005... Organisations within the financial services sector in Australia face a continuous challenge of maintaining competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive market. With greater pressure than ever to increase share of wallet, reduce...

Hot topic: a brand evolution: an organisation's brand is very often its most valuable asset. As businesses grow to address new opportunities, strong brands find ways to extend their relevance beyond their initial product associations.(NEWS)
November 30, 2005... For example, Apple is as credible and appealing for mp3 music players as for computers. For a global brand such as Visa this is an essential and challenging task, especially when the brand is shared with 21,000 member financial institutions....

St George hoses down marketplace rumours: St George Bank continues to fend off market rumours, the latest being that Australias fifth largest bank could be a target for rapidly expanding HBOS/BankWest.(NEWS)
November 30, 2005... St Georges corporate affairs department dismissed the rumour that HBOS may table a bid for the bank. The reports failed to say where this latest rumour originated but it seems that attention often focuses on St George when theresa slow...

NAB sells NZ managed funds business to AXA.(NEWS)
November 30, 2005... NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK will sell its New Zealand managed funds subsidiary BNZ Investment Management to Assure New Zealand. Assure New Zealand is a wholly owned subsidiary of AXA Pacific Holdings, which itself is 51.6 percent owned by AXA...

ANZ shifts back office staff to India.(Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.)(Brief Article)
November 30, 2005... ANZ PLANS TO INCREASE ITS Indian based back office staff from 650 to 1000 over the next 18 months. But the bank emphasised that no customer oriented roles would be moved to India and the number of customer facing staff in Australia would...

Real-time transaction fault alerting for fraud prevention and enhanced customer service: ATM and POS monitoring processes alert financial institutions to transaction errors as they occur, preventing fraudulent transactions and minimising the impact of network issues on customer service.(NEWS)
November 30, 2005... ATM outages can cost tens of thousands of dollars per hour--the impact on customer service for financial institutions is impossible to measure. Without an instant alerting and diagnostic tool, the process of identifying and resolving ATM...

HSBC sets sights on emerging Asia markets: one hundred and forty years ago HSBC was established to repave the Silk Road--trade between Europe and China. Now the lender is Europe's largest, which speaks volumes on the historic and current potential of China.(INTERNATIONAL)
November 30, 2005... HSBC is planning to establish a securities business in China, to offer Islamic insurance (Takaful, based not on uncertainty but more analogous to fidelity arrangements) services in Malaysia--by increasing its staff by a third--and is eyeing...

SAP extends CRM leadership: SAP Asia Pacific has announced that growing customer adoption of mySAP[TM] Customer Relationship Management (mySAP CRM) led to double-digit percent year-on-year growth in the region for the first nine months of 2005.(INTERNATIONAL)(Company Profile)
November 30, 2005... With more than 25 new mySAP CRM customers in APA so far this year, SAP has further established its position as the partner of choice for enterprises looking to transform their business processes around customer centricity. Globally, CRM-related...

Macquarie is on the move.(Brief Article)
November 30, 2005... AUSTRALIA'S LEADING INVESTMENT Macquarie Bank, is back in the news due to aggressive corporate maneuvering. According to a report released recently in The Australian Financial Review, MacBank as it is often referred to, is to float a property...

A new Standard bearer for APAC retail banks is crowned.(INTERNATIONAL)
November 30, 2005... STANDARD CHARTERED BANK HAS BEEN NAMED THE BEST RETAIL Bank in Asia Pacific for 2005 at the recent Retail Banker International Awards ceremony. This is Standard Chartered's second win in this category, having received the Award in 2003. In...

Major banks' balancing act yields strong result: the 2005 result for Australia's major banks was another record year. The strong result demonstrates they have found an appropriate balance between meeting the needs of shareholders and customers.(SPECIAL FEATURE: ANNUAL REVIEW OF BANKS)
November 30, 2005... Strong asset growth, low bad debts expense and exceptional wealth management profits helped Australia's major banks (1) (the majors) deliver a strong result in 2005. Income continued to rise while costs rose slightly and doubtful debt expense...

Performance survey: strong income including exceptional wealth management profits and continued cost management helped Australia's major banks (1) (the majors) deliver another solid result in 2005. Housing loan growth was lower but remained strong.
November 30, 2005... Profit Operating profit after tax increased by 25.1 percent to $14.9 billion in 2005. Excluding non-cash items such as wealth management revaluations and NAB's significant items of $0.3 billion (primarily profit on sale of its Irish banks...

Why don't you insource?(NEWS)
November 30, 2005... The pressure on banks to increase customer choice while decreasing costs continues to be an enormous challenge. The global level playing field concept allows large foreign banks to compete locally and hence provide pressure on local banks. ...

Is Mrs Peacock Docklands-bound?(Brief Article)(Interview)
November 30, 2005... In a recent interview with the Yorkshire Post, Lynne Peacock, John Stewart's right-hand lady in London, described the recent wholesale closure of more than a hundred Yorkshire Bank and Clydesdale Bank branches as part of a process to "grow the...

No footy in Bangalore.(Brief Article)
November 30, 2005... Despite an eighteen-month project to beef up its backroom operation in Bangalore, India, ANZ has no plans to follow the general trend and move its call centres to the sub-continent, says spokesman Paul Edwards. A good thing too. Operators in...

Big retailers considering their options.(BEHIND THE SCREENS)
November 30, 2005... Despite its recent win in Federal Court, the RBA is making its usual heavy weather of the Eftpos issue, leaving just about everybody unhappy with its plans to "designate" the system or, in ordinary English, to impose by flat an across-the-board...

Ralph to the rescue.(Brief Article)(Interview)
November 30, 2005... Ralph Norris, we see, is kicking off his innings at Commonwealth with a campaign to dramatically reduce the time taken to approve (or not) loans to small businesses. This is not as altruistic as it seems: Growth in this sector has drawn level...