Former Barclays chief executive Bob Diamond leaves the Treasury Select Committee after giving evidence in London. The LIBOR-fixing scandal is the latest in a long line of dubious and illegal schemes.
The role of Barclays bank in manipulating the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) continues to dominate international financial media. The bank has already attracted fines from regulators in the UK and…
Pay it down - Treasurer Wayne Swan goes through his now-usual exhortation to banks to pass on today’s Reserve Bank 25 basis point rate cut in full.
AAP
Amid the tumultuous economic climate in the US and Europe - not to mention the tumbling fortunes of our sharemarket - the Reserve Bank of Australia has followed market sentiment and cut the official cash…
Fears over Greece saw the Australian dollar dip under parity for the first time since December.
AAP
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…
Graeme Samuel and Stephen King: two of Australia’s most senior regulators sit down together for The Conversation.
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…
Moves by ANZ last week to hike their interest rates was criticised by Treasurer Wayne Swan: but historically, banks have often been at odds with governments.
AAP
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…
If one of Australia’s big four banks were to fail, it would be disastrous for the economy and the financial system.
AAP
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 proposed Volcker Rule, which will ban proprietary trading by commercial banks, has raised the ire of Wall Street.
Bête à Bon-Dieu
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…
Decoupled: The Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to hold interest rates has been ignored by the banks.
AAP
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…
Three of Australia’s Big Four banks have opted to offshore part of their financial operations to Asia.
AAP
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…
Reducing the finance costs of housing will also reduce house prices.
Flickr/kennymatic
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 NAB have cut their mortgage rates. Will the other two major banks follow suit?
AAP
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 warned UK banks to prepare for the worst.
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…
Westpac chief Gail Kelly has warned about “the contagion effect” from Europe.
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…
Banks such as NAB are reportedly positioning themselves to use covered bonds to raise funds.
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…
UBS chief Oswald Gruebel has stepped down after a rogue trader cost the bank $US2.3 billion.
AAP
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…
Well-intentioned credit protection regulations could make it hard for some people to secure loans.
AAP
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…
The British banking sector is facing a major shakeup in the wake of the global crisis.
AAP
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…
Surprisingly few people change banks, believing it is more complicated than it actually is.
AAP
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…
Good financial inclusion measures will protect consumers from predatory lenders.
Flickr/rinkjustice
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…