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Financial Services

This Month

A Westpac whistleblower claims she raised more than a dozen complaints internally about suspected fraud and criminal activity at mortgage broking subsidiary RAMS.

Troubled RAMS trips to $18.6m loss

Westpac had earlier in the year failed to find a buyer for the business, which is involved in two court cases alleging fraud.

  • Lucas Baird

Settlement outage puts ASX in the crosshairs – again

Regulators will review a high-profile failure in the exchange’s settlement systems that hindered millions of trades last week.

  • Lucas Baird
The ASX has been plagued by technical issues as its underlying platforms age.

ASX says it will trade as normal on Monday, narrowly avoiding disaster

The market operator had been hit by technical issues on Friday which meant that trades could not be settled. Staff worked through the weekend to fix the issue.

  • James Eyers
Rob Silverwood last year. The division of PwC he oversees is a lucrative one for the firm.

BGH targets PwC dealmakers for new M&A advisory

Under the proposal, more than a dozen top transactions partners would leave for a new firm that would be overseen by Rob Silverwood, currently PwC’s deals boss.

  • Edmund Tadros, Sarah Thompson and Emma Rapaport
The ASX has been battling repeated outages at its crucial clearing and settlements platform, known as CHESS.

ASX scrambles to fix CHESS settlements outage as traders fume

At lunchtime on Friday as many stockbrokers went to end-of-year lunches, the market operator said its batch payments had failed, threatening a cash flow crunch.

  • James Eyers
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The Martha Stewart documentary on Netflix went down well with Coles CEO Leah Weckert.

What our top CEOs read, watched and listened to in 2024

From business books to crime thrillers and podcasts, here’s what our CEOs did in their spare time this year.

  • Anthony Macdonald and James Thomson
An image of Donald Trump holding a bitcoin token. His election has pushed more investors into the digital asset.

ASIC’s attempts to clarify crypto rules confuses digital exchanges

Independent Reserve, BTC Markets and Kraken say new guidance and industry calls have not provided any clarity about whether they will need to obtain licences.

  • James Eyers
Marcus Darville (right) and Simon Pither of Quadrant Private Equity.

Quadrant banks $660m for third growth fund

The six-week fundraise was oversubscribed after ultra-high-net-worth investors added funds to the pot.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
The Minns government in NSW wants to speed up housing approvals.

‘Profit vaporised by time’: Westpac boss backs council reform to fix housing

Anthony Miller has thrown his weight behind the NSW government’s ambitious push to bypass local councils and reform planning laws.

  • Lucas Baird
Incoming Westpac CEO Anthony Miller has lunch with Lucas Baird at the Palace Hotel in Mortlake.

Suburban pub grub suits Westpac’s new CEO

Living in Sydney’s inner west makes Anthony Miller an outlier among big bank chiefs. The former investment banker is determined to make his firm stand out, too.

  • Lucas Baird
Goldman Sachs co-head of investment banking Nick Sims.

JPMorgan leads ECM league table for first time in decades; Goldies sweeps M&A

While flashy M&A draws the eyeballs, 2024 has been a remarkable year for equity desks.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Square argues a debit card surcharge ban will play into the hands of the major banks.

Debit surcharge ban unfairly favours major banks, claims Square

The Block subsidiary introduced “blended” card payment fees which include using its software. They have become a flashpoint in the RBA’s payment cost review.

  • James Eyers
Genesis Capital deal makers Chris Yoo and Michael Caristo.

Genesis Capital amasses $350m for more healthcare deals

Doctor turned private equiteer Michael Caristo and his co-founder Chris Yoo have finalised a fund, drawing interest from institutional investors and families.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Plenty of CEOs have been to the US to consider how AI could change their businesses this year.

How CEOs are using AI, from driverless forklifts to bird counts

Everyone’s doing it, but are they doing it properly? Here is a fascinating snapshot of what Australian companies are doing with artificial intelligence.

  • Anthony Macdonald and James Thomson
The RBA is reviewing how surcharging works after complaints that it was a growing and hidden cost of buying goods and services.

There are more hidden costs to payments than people think

Consumers should not pay excessive surcharges, but a total ban will not lower the expense of card payments for businesses.

  • Jon Davey
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ANZ boss Shayne Elliot has taken another hit from angry investors.

Elliott’s bonus hit shows how grumpy ANZ investors really are

Local fund managers are clearly unhappy with the board’s approach to risk management. Shayne Elliott is wearing a lot of their grief. 

  • James Thomson
ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott.

Shayne Elliott gives up $3m in bonuses as ANZ cops first pay strike

Shareholders have handed the bank its first strike against remuneration in six years, furious about the handling of the crisis engulfing its trading floors.

  • Lucas Baird
One of Lendlease’s developments in Melbourne. The company will focus on projects in Australia after a backlash from investors.

Lendlease’s long-time bankers nervously face new era

Gresham and Morgan Stanley have been hanging around the real estate giant for years. But a new chairman might have other ideas as he settles in.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
David Aylward, Tribeca founder, doesn’t need fundraising expert (and one-time equity backer) GSFM anymore.

Tribeca expands distribution headcount with Australian Ethical hire

The firm, home to well-known fund managers including Ben Cleary and John Stover, has doubled its distribution headcount with new hires in Sydney and Singapore.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Dare Capital’s Charlie Selth started at Vincents as an undergraduate accounting in 2022.

This 21-year-old has just banked $10m for his R&D funding venture

Charlie Selth brought the idea to his boss, executive chairman Jonathan Dooley, 18 months ago to create a lending model for early-stage companies.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Insignia Financial boss Scott Hartley.

Insignia rejects Bain’s billions as lacking ‘fair value’

Major shareholder Tanarra Capital described the private equity firm’s offer as “highly opportunistic” as Insignia shares tumbled.

  • Michelle Bowes
In hindsight, Xero picked up CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy on the cheap. The board has renegotiated a new paypacket, which it says puts her in line with other US-based tech company CEOs.

Xero CEO’s pay rise shows how to earn corporate Australia’s big bucks

There is one way to earn the big money, and it isn’t linked to market cap, importance to Australia’s economy or even shareholder returns.

  • Anthony Macdonald
The Binance Markets cryptocurrency exchange trading app.

Binance sued over dodgy test that cost investors $13.1m

Binance Australia staff were allegedly incompetent and misclassified hundreds of mum and dad investors as “sophisticated”, exposing them to risky investments.

  • Lucas Baird
You know Christmas is coming when last-minute bids start flying.

Santa quashes Bain Capital’s big Aussie buyout, for now

Behind the flurry of statements, there’s a game of M&A chess. Insignia Financial is this year’s Christmas special.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Mason Stevens chief executive Tim Yule.

PE firm Adamantem Capital swoops on IPO-candidate Mason Stevens

Street Talk understands an agreement was signed between the two parties on Wednesday morning, handing over the keys to 100 per cent of the company.

  • Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services