| RBA Reassuring on Banks
Within a month, four of the Big Five banks will produce interim earnings while the Bank of Queensland trots out its figures in the middle of next week.The ANZ, St George, National and Westpac will all produce solid profit performances in the first half of the 2007 financial year and analysts are generally agreed that the main points to be watched will be the level of bad and doubtful debts in housing mortgages and personal, such as credit cards.And while there were fears there could be an upsurge in the level of dodgy loans and actual losses, it is now becoming clear from the APRA and Reserve Bank data, plus the RBA's financial stability statement on Monday that much of that concern was misplaced.In fact the RBA's comments on the banks and the banking system should be read by all bank shareholders: unless the RBA has made a horrible error, it's clear there are no black holes in bank balance sheets.Perhaps the most interesting area to watch is the implicit warning about the contraction of lending margins on housing mortgages because of low demand and high levels of competition.The RBA points out that there are hardly any mortgages being sold where the borrower is paying the bank headline adjustable or fixed rate, such is the intensity of competition.Banks' share prices have increased by around 14 per cent over the past six months, slightly underperforming the broader market.
BNZ out to woo personal business
The cut-throat consumer banking sector moves into a new phase tonight, with the BNZ's launch of a new personal banking system it claims as a world first. Seeking to move away from an image as more of a bank for businesses, the BNZ hopes its new TotalMoney creation will help push its share of the home loan market from 16.1 per cent to 20 per cent. TotalMoney allows family groups and couples to pool accounts, so all can earn a higher interest rate. All will be able to see each other's balances, but will not have access to the funds or be able to see transaction details. It will also, for the first time, allow savings in one account to be "offset" against another person's floating home loan, forgoing interest, but making it quicker to repay the mortgage.
Enhances Content and Revenue Model of Marquee Personal Finance and ...
SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--InterSearch Group, Inc. (AMEX: IGO), a leading operator of industry specific destination portals and provider of Internet search services announced today that it has rolled out the enhanced edition of its marquee personal finance online property, www.Banks.com. Banks.com is an online consumer finance marketplace aggregating information on a broad range of products and fees including: mortgages, credit cards, auto loans, college financing, debt management, retirement, and more. The online property now also features a wealth of resources and advice on personal finance topics in a convenient user format. Banks.com generates revenues through a hybrid model combining pay-per-click and affiliate arrangements with advertisers and paid search. "We acquired Banks.com in September 2006 to create a preeminent online consumer banking one-stop marketplace built around a domain name that is synonymous with that offering.
Govt wants banks to go slow on sensitive sectors
MUMBAI: The government is nudging all public sector banks to go slow on loans to sensitive sectors like stock market and real estate and prune outstandings like credit card receivables. In a recent letter to the state-owned banks, the finance ministry has said "public sector banks need to have a re-look at the continued high credit growth in the sensitive sectors and take necessary steps for rebalancing overall credit portfolio." The March 29 letter, issued by Amitabh Verma, joint secretary in the banking division, comes against the backdrop of a continued rise in the share of sensitive credit — real estate, commodities and stock market. The banking regulator, RBI, has also shown concern on ballooning personal loans and credit card portfolio of banks. These loans are unsecured in nature and are more prone to defaults.
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