February
Chalmers instructs banks to loosen home loan rules for HECS debts
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has instructed the prudential regulator to relax how HECS is treated when banks conduct mortgage serviceability tests.
Anna Bligh to retire as boss of banking lobby group
The former Queensland premier took up the job as the industry’s peak lobbyist in the midst of a damning financial services royal commission.
ASX slumps; Tariffs drive market panic; US could feel some trade pain: Trump
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
January
Banks would face new loan regime under Coalition amid ESG pushback
Peter Dutton says bankers on multimillion-dollar pay packets who restrict lending on environmental grounds are out of step with ordinary Australians.
‘Swayed by extremist groups’: Abetz slams bank in ESG stoush
A dispute over ESG requirements has emerged in Tasmania after a forestry company claimed its financing from Bendigo and Adelaide Bank was knocked back on environmental concerns.
December 2024
Stephen Conroy goes spluttering and unhinged against the BCA
The former Labor senator went troppo at the Business Council, whose members include his own lobby clients.
November 2024
Bankers split as Chalmers kicks off branch levy negotiations
Treasurer Jim Chalmers has kick-started face-to-face negotiations with bank CEOs about a potential new $350 million levy, but bankers are split over the proposal.
October 2024
How the big banks got out of Canberra’s line of fire
The big four bank chiefs can stride confidently into the capital. Perhaps the supermarkets, now under attack, can learn something from their rehabilitation.
Is there any rhyme or reason to credit card surcharges?
From absolutely no fee to more than four per cent, paying for a coffee can suddenly become very costly. These cafés explain why they charge what they do.
August 2024
Stephen Jones shields banks in scam ‘war’
The financial services minister and banking lobby boss Anna Bligh are so aligned on scams that they are repeating each other’s words.
July 2024
Senate to vote next month on extending data right for bank switching
Treasurer Jim Chalmers is working through banks’ concerns about the consumer data right, as the Senate forced a vote on a bill to extend it by mid-August.
June 2024
ASIC warns banks not to become complacent with new code
ASIC has approved a new Banking Code of Practice, but chairman Joe Longo says lenders must be alive to the dangers of “apathy, complacency and backsliding”.
Armaguard and the banks now trust each other, says Linfox chairman
There has been a big turnaround in the relationship between the cash transport monopoly and its eight biggest customers.
Armaguard secures deal with banks, supermarkets to save cash
Months after a bailout collapsed, the eight largest customers of Linfox’s Armaguard have agreed to a $50 million injection to keep cash circulating.
Finance sector union not opposed to ANZ’s $4.9b Suncorp bank buy
The federal treasurer, a Queenslander with close ties to the state government, has been considering the takeover of the Brisbane-based bank since April.
May 2024
Lenders creating ‘unnecessary barriers’ for struggling customers: ASIC
With living costs high, ASIC chairman Joe Longo has issued a stern report on bank hardship policies. ABA chief Anna Bligh says processes are being improved.
Liontown’s Tim Goyder turns up to thank Jim Chalmers
Heavy hitters wary of party political functions have grown fond of the National Press Club’s Great Hall lunch.
Bull and the budget: supplicants take over Canberra
As the treasurer hands down his third budget, hasn’t he aroused a stupendous chorus of critics?
April 2024
Linfox lays out its terms for keeping Armaguard afloat
Peter Fox, the company’s executive chairman, says his family are “not beggars here”. He says the cash-in-transit monopoly will keep operating if fees rise.
March 2024
Coles hoards cash over Easter as Armaguard teeters on the brink
The Lindsay Fox-controlled monopoly has engaged former ACTU secretary Bill Kelty to lead negotiations with major banks over a rescue package.