ANZ Financial News

Auditing firms are struggling to attract people into the profession because the role is demanding and the work unpleasant, the head of the corporate regulator says.

A former ANZ employee is among seven people accused of running Australia’s biggest money-laundering ring and faces life in jail if convicted, as former Howard government minister Gary Hardgrave said he had been left “shocked and duped” for backing the business.

Members of accounting body Chartered Accountants ANZ have voted to increase the maximum fine payable for bad behaviour by member firms to $250,000 from $50,000 as part of disciplinary reforms to rebuild public confidence in the sector.

NRMA Insurance will start offering home loans to its 3 million customers in a distribution deal that will disturb major banks given it involves mortgages being sold directly to customers of highly trusted non-bank brands.

Investing.com-- Most Asian currencies fell slightly on Wednesday as strong overnight data boosted the dollar, while the Australian dollar rose sharply as a strong inflation reading fueled expectations for an interest rate hike in November. 

Incoming Bendigo and Adelaide Bank chairman David Foster said the lender wants to get bigger in Queensland, after it told the tribunal considering ANZ’s offer for Suncorp Bank that Bendigo has strong incentives to merge with the Queensland target.

By Mohi Narayan

Oil prices eased on Monday as aid convoys started to arrive in the Gaza Strip over the weekend amid diplomatic efforts to contain a conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas from spreading to the wider oil-rich region. Brent crude futures fell 60 cents to $91.56 a barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures lost 61 cent to trade at $87.47 a barrel at 0038 GMT. For the past week, contracts rose more than 1% for a second consecutive weekly jump, on fear of potential supply disruption if the Israel-Hamas war grows into a wider confrontation in the Middle East, the world's biggest oil-supplying region. «Israel agreed to hold off its attack on Hamas following pressure from the U.S.,» ANZ Research said in a client note.

By Xie Yu

Lithium developer Liontown Resources will take on $760 million of further debt and issue up to $420 million of new shares in a heavily discounted raising, under a plan to complete construction of its Kathleen Valley mine in Western Australia without the deep pockets of Albemarle.

central bank kept its interest rate unchanged for a sixth straight meeting on Thursday while retaining a tightening bias, as policymakers stayed alert to higher oil prices that could interrupt a moderation in inflation. The Bank of Korea (BOK) said price pressures would remain for longer than expected due to heightened uncertainties surrounding the Israel-Hamas conflict and global oil prices. «The timing of consumer price inflation converging on the target level is more likely to be delayed than previously expected,» it said in a statement after keeping its key policy rate at 3.50%, as expected by all 49 economists polled by Reuters. The South Korean economy has taken a hit from a cumulative 300 basis points of rate hikes since August 2021 that has been adding financial stress to households, among the most indebted in the world. With markets not anticipating a rise in rates for the rest of the year, the focus is now on whether Governor Rhee Chang-yong will maintain his hawkish bias or signal a policy pivot. «Above-target domestic inflation will keep the BOK guarded. September's print exceeded expectations at 3.7%, driven mainly by oil and agricultural prices.

By Paul Carsten

National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank have switched on a new identity checking service, ConnectID, which will allow companies to tap banks for information about customers rather than gathering it themselves, minimising the risk of another Optus-style attack.

Steven Gregg will take the top board seat at Westpac after this year’s annual shareholders meeting, when the bank’s chairman John McFarlane retires after three years in the role.

Fast-growing small and medium businesses requiring more capital to grow should consider partnering with a $540 million private equity-style fund backed by banks and the federal government, its chief executive says.

ANZ breached its continuous disclosure obligations when it did not disclose that underwriters had filled a $790 million shortfall when raising $2.5 billion from institutional investors in 2015, a court has found.

By Katya Golubkova and Andrew Hayley

Earlier this month, Swiss investment bank UBS launched a “tokenised” investment fund under a pilot project being run by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

Oil prices rose on Friday after the U.S. tightened its sanctions programme against Russian crude exports, raising supply concerns in an already tight market, and global inventories are forecast to decline through the fourth quarter. Brent futures rose 36 cents, or 0.4%, to $86.36 per barrel and U.S.

The timing of Fletcher Building’s 5-year fixed bond deal is up in the air as the company deals with the fallout from plumbing failures and a faulty pipe product in Western Australia.

Scape has followed up a $1 billion-plus fundraise with a $1.4 billion debt deal tied to green targets, that will enable the borrower to convert the debt into sustainable financing in future.