Australian Banking & Finance articles from November 2006

Australian Banking & Finance archives from November 2006

Mortgage brokers face extreme shake-up: Aussie Home Loans founder and managing director, John Symond, has forecast a major cull in the mortgage broking industry, with many 'one-man-bands' to lose out.(EXCLUSIVE)
November 15, 2006... According to John Symond, there will be widespread changes in the mortgage broking industry over the next two or three years. The outcome, however, will be positive for consumers. Speaking at the Australian Banking & Finance magazine event,...

New boss at Colonial: Brian Bissaker has been appointed chief executive officer of Colonial First State and will take up the reins next week.(Brief article)
November 15, 2006... He moves up from his current role of general manager, Product and Investment Services. Bissaker joined Colonial in 2002 from BT Fund Management where he was executive vice president and head of product. He started his career with KPMG...

Rabobank gets new HQ: Food and agribusiness specialist Rabobank has left Sydney's Pitt Street and moved to new premises in Darling Park Tower 3.(NEWS)
November 15, 2006... Darling Park 3 is the third and final stage of the Darling Park complex, home to among others, PricewaterhouseCoopers and Fairfax. Rabobank inked a 10 year lease deal and now occupies five levels of the 18 floor tower. The bank has sky...

Australian Securitisation Forum announce annual distinguished service awards.(NEWS)
November 15, 2006... THE AUSTRALIAN SECURITISATION FORUM (ASF), Australia's principle body representing the securitisation industry, announced recently the recipients of the 2006 ASF Distinguished Service Awards: Chris Dalton, Managing Director, Standard and...

2006: the year that was: the past 12 months have been an exceptional time for the Australian financial services industry. Here are just some of the highlights.(NEWS)
November 15, 2006... January * Global reinsurers demand premium rate increases after a 'disaster' year in 2005. * Eric Drok is appointed as CEO of ING Direct Australia. He replaces Vaughn Richtor, who has taken up the position of CEO, ING Vysya Bank in...

Seasons greetings from Australian Banking & Finance.(NEWS)
November 15, 2006... IN A STELLAR ECONOMY, THE AUSTRALIAN financial services sector has experienced a stellar year in 2006. Our five largest banks all reported healthy results--with even the smallest, St.George, joining the $1 billion profit club. Macquarie...

17th Annual Awards open for nominations.(NEWS)
November 15, 2006... The 17th Annual Australian Banking & Finance Magazine Awards nominations are now open. Readers are now invited to send in nominations for any or all categories which will be placed before our judging panel and a shortlist of finalists will...

Technology threats and opportunities in the coming decade of banking: a number of inevitable trends will affect and inform the banking sector in the next 10 years. Each will involve the adoption of innovative technology and the development of new business models.(NEWS)
November 15, 2006... As we look back on the last decade of banking in Australia, there are many successes and much to be proud of. The banking business has financed 15 years of uninterrupted GDP growth--a track record that is the envy of the world. Australian...

Company sets platform for aggressive growth in rewards, loyalty and card payments market: listed card marketing, issuing and management company Oncard International Limited (Oncard) sets the platform for aggressive growth across the Asia Pacific region.(Company overview)
November 15, 2006... Over the past six months, the company has built a regional footprint and is now positioning itself to become the pre-eminent provider of loyalty, reward and card payment solutions across the region. Company Chairman and CEO Mr Peter...

2007 features list.(ONLINE INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION)(Calendar)
November 15, 2006... 2007 features list If you are a regular reader or event attendee of Australian Banking & Finance and did not receive the 2007 Feature List by email we have publish it here for your interest. Issue Date Feature ...

Real-time monitoring boosts business performance: a recent report suggests that financial services organisations can dramatically improve their overall returns on investment and assets through effective monitoring of business processes.(NEWS)
November 15, 2006... Many of the world's leading companies--especially in industries such as financial services--are rapidly embracing business performance monitoring technology that offers offering near real-time event processing and alerts based on key...

Self-service technology enables branch optimisation.(banking industry)
November 15, 2006... AFTER 'DOT COM' TURNED TO 'dot toast', everyone could see it was the retailers who had maintained a physical 'store front' that survived best. This was at around the same time that banks started reversing their own clicks-not-bricks ventures....

Economists vary on growth and rates: the leading economists who spoke at Australian Banking & Finance magazine's 5th Annual World Financial Services Conference in early December all agreed that we are seeing a slowdown in the global economy. They differed, however, as to the extent and volatility of this slowdown and its consequences for Australia in the short to medium term.(WORLD FINANCIAL SERVICES CONFERENCE/ WRAP UP)
November 15, 2006... Ken Waller, from the Melbourne APEC Finance Centre, moderated the 'Economists' session at the conference and suggested that we are experiencing a relatively smooth adjustment period in Australia and around the world. "Markets are...

Getting to the heart of financial crime: the 'Financial Crime' session at the World Financial Services Conference featured KPMG's Gary Gill, the Australian Federal Police's Rob Tunnicliff, and Westpac's head of risk BTSS, Andrew Purchas.(WORLD FINANCIAL SERVICES CONFERENCE/ WRAP UP)(Survey)(Column)
November 15, 2006... Gary Gill presented findings from KPMG's recently released fraud survey, which examined the prevalence of fraud in the economies of Australia and New Zealand. He said that fraud has moved up the corporate agenda in the financial services...

Timing is everything in the insurance market: in the 'Insurance Market' session at the World Financial Services Conference, Aon's national manager, market services, Lambros Lambrou, said that the Australian insurance industry, over the past two to three years, has experienced unprecedented profitability from an ROE perspective.(WORLD FINANCIAL SERVICES CONFERENCE/ WRAP UP)
November 15, 2006... The performance of Australian insurance companies has, in fact, been superior to that of peers in the United States and Europe. Mr Lambrou provided a broad insurance market update, in terms of "navigating the choppy 'C's of the insurance...

2006 Banking Stars lunch event.(BANKING STARS OF 2006: WRAP UP)
November 15, 2006... Four of Australia's 2006 banking stars gave a bright, amusing yet salutary view of the 2007 outlook at a CISCO-sponsored lunch hosted by Australian Banking and Finance magazine in Sydney on 5 December 2006. ING Direct's Eric Drok, Aussie Home...

AML legislation to drive business benefits.(Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist financing bill)(Column)
November 15, 2006... Every three months, Australian Banking and Finance magazine will present a column on financial crime from leading experts in the field. Here is the first, with a contribution from KPMG's Gary Gill and a European perspective from New Scotland...

On the record.(speech by the Aussie Home Loans' founder & managing director, John Symond at the 'Banking Stars of 06' event)(Brief article)
November 15, 2006... "There are upwards of 20,000 brokers out there. And... the vast majority only sell two or three products at best, using just a calculator and a pad, while the larger broking firms have over 2,000 different home loan products and software that...

Developments in private banking.
November 15, 2006... A NUMBER OF INTERNATIONAL BANKS ARE LOOKING to develop further their private banking operations. Allied with this, is a move overseas to consolidate some of the private banks. One issue most banks are facing is finding experienced client...