Articles

James Eyers & Misa Han | The Australian Financial Review | 10 May 2019 https://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/inside-the-westpac-case-that-could-alter-banking-20190510-p51lz4 It’s a case that will define one of the most fundamental jobs of a bank – working out whether to lend to a customer. On one side is the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. The regulator has taken Westpac Banking […]

James Frost & James Eyers | The Australian Financial Review | 1 May 2019 https://www.afr.com/business/banking-and-finance/anz-says-7-25pc-buffer-has-to-go-20190501-p51j0g ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott urged the prudential regulator to scale back the buffer requiring new borrowers have the capacity to pay a 7.25 per cent interest rate, warning it was forcing the bank to turn away one in five […]

Annie Kane | The Adviser | 7 May 2019 https://www.theadviser.com.au/breaking-news/39077-three-quarters-of-smes-believe-bank-appetite-has-decreased Seventy-four per cent of small business owners believe that bank appetite for SME lending has decreased this financial year, while 30 per cent believe that access to capital is the biggest impediment to growth this year. According to a recent survey conducted by specialist business […]

David Scutt | Business Insider Australia | 10 May 2019 https://www.businessinsider.com.au/australia-house-prices-best-worst-performing-capital-city-2019-5 Australia’s median home price slumped 7.2% in the year to April. An even larger 8.4% decline was recorded in the capital cities in average weighted terms. The price falls in some regional capital city markets were substantially larger than the national average. In others, […]

Madison Utley | Australian Broker | 9 May 2019 https://www.brokernews.com.au/news/breaking-news/majors-commit-to-hem-alternatives-262695.aspx As Westpac and ASIC continue to clash over responsible lending measures and the big four face remediation bills of more than $5bn, focus has turned once again to the need to improve responsible lending frameworks. The HEM system –  which was repeatedly scrutinised during royal commission hearings, […]

Three events occurred recently that will inject life into the property market. First, the ALP lost the Federal Election – removing the threats to negative gearing. Then the Australian Prudential Regulator (APRA) announced changes to lending policy that will make getting a loan easier And, on the same day, the Reserve Bank (RBA) telegraphed that […]