The Australian dollar has touched below parity with the US dollar for the first time since December last year. This will no doubt disappoint the long line of Australian citizens touring the world, firms…
What happens when two of Australia’s best known former competition regulators sit down together and talk about the world? A wide-ranging discussion on the state of Australia’s political debate, xenophobia…
In Australia’s economic history, there always been tension between Labor and the banks. My grandfather was an adviser to wartime Labor Treasurer and Prime Minister, Joseph Benedict Chifley, better known…
Kevin Davis, Australian Centre for Financial Studies
The focus of the statement by the Australia-New Zealand Shadow Financial Regulatory Committee asks whether the systemic importance of the big four Australasian banks warrants special regulatory treatment…
The agenda of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Annual Summer School in Sydney was dominated by discussions on how to reduce systemic risk. The noted increase in the regulatory perimeter…
Kevin Davis, Australian Centre for Financial Studies
Last week, the Reserve Bank defied market expectations to announce the 4.25% cash rate would remain unchanged. But the surprise decision by Australia’s Big Four banks to act independently of the Reserve…
Reports of more offshoring of jobs from Australia to other countries are, seemingly, a daily occurrence. Such reports include, for example, the manufacturing of cars and their components and aspects of…
Welcome to Safe as Houses, a series delving into a topic close to the heart of many Australians – property. This is not a series on where the market might be heading. Instead we aim to explore how we view…
ANZ and National Australia Bank have passed on the Reserve Bank of Australia’s 0.25% interest rate cut to mortgage holders, lowering their standard variable rates. Treasurer Wayne Swan called on the big…
Bank of England Governor Mervyn King has called on British banks to lift their capital reserves, hold off on paying dividends and cut bonuses amid growing fears about Europe’s economic stability. King’s…
Kevin Davis, Australian Centre for Financial Studies
Westpac chief executive Gail Kelly this week warned about Australian banks are vulnerable to “the contagion effect” of Europe’s ongoing financial woes, after the Commonwealth Bank of Australia delayed…
The Reserve Bank of Australia has cut the official cash interest rate by 25 basis points, from 4.75% to 4.5%, in a move matching most economists’ expectations. It was the first cut since April 2009. Westpac…
Australian banks are positioning themselves to take advantage of new laws allowing them to use the new instrument of covered bonds to raise funds. Our large banks especially have enthusiastically welcomed…
The chief executive of Swiss banking giant UBS, Oswald Gruebel, has quit following revelations of a $US2.3 billion fraud by “rogue trader” Kweku Adoboli. But the news will come as cold comfort for investors…
The Federal Government has taken significant steps in recent years to protect consumers from predatory lending practices, such as very high-interest “payday loans”. An unfortunate, though surely unintentional…
Major proposals designed to reform Britain’s banking sector after its spectacular 2008 crash have been described as one of the biggest shakeups in a generation. But they are likely be inadequate for a…
Treasurer Wayne Swan is fond of telling anyone who will listen how much he wants bank customers to “walk down the road and get a better deal”. This sums up the government’s vision for reforming the banking…
The Australian government has begun to focus on the issue of financial inclusion, as reflected by an allocation of $60.6 million in this year’s federal budget. This follows earlier government support for…