Financial Services

“While the outlook for Blue Sky is easy to articulate, the execution is always more challenging…Our business is well placed to meet the inevitable challenges that lie ahead” quoted the 2017 Annual Report. continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Companies, Financial Services.

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The Royal Commission into the Australian financial sector seems to be taking a dim view of the way lenders assess the expenditure of loan applicants. It’s possible it will recommend that banks check the actual level of spending of each applicant. This could have big ramifications. continue…

by Andreas Lundberg Posted in Editor's Pick, Financial Services.

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A new report confirms that mortgages in arrears are rising sharply. Is this just a blip, or a worrying sign that more and more Australian borrowers are struggling to meet their commitments? continue…

by Andreas Lundberg Posted in Editor's Pick, Financial Services.

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After raising standard variable rates on interest only and investment property mortgages in 2016 and 2017, the big banks have recently unwound some of these increases. This has surprised some observers. So, what’s going on? continue…

by Stuart Jackson Posted in Editor's Pick, Financial Services.

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Australia’s financial regulator, APRA, is looking to increase the number of mortgage categories that are to be penalised with an increase in regulatory capital by the banks. The higher capital requirements on these categories is likely to see riskier loans get more expensive. continue…

by Stuart Jackson Posted in Financial Services.

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Around $60 billion of interest-only loans are due to reset over the next four years. According to the Reserve Bank, that could create wider problems if the economy turns down.
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by Scott Shuttleworth Posted in Financial Services.

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The level of household financial stress in Australia is a key issue. This is because a significant pull-back in the financial position of households would have flow-on effects across the economy. So, the recent data released by the nation’s largest lenders provides an important reading of future trends. continue…

by Stuart Jackson Posted in Editor's Pick, Financial Services.

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Latest figures show Australia’s household debt and gearing keep on rising, with the ratio of household debt to disposable income now at record levels. The recent rise has been largely due to the loan book growth of smaller institutions and non-traditional lenders, often to higher-risk borrowers. This is a worrying development. continue…

by Stuart Jackson Posted in Financial Services.

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The structural decline in US ten-year bonds from 15.8 per cent in 1981 to 1.3 per cent in 2016 has seen both record lows and generational lows.  Others include 4.7 per cent in 1830, 2.8 per cent in 1900 1.7 per cent in 1945. continue…

by David Buckland Posted in Financial Services.

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Stuart Jackson, Portfolio Manager for The Montgomery [Private] Fund and Senior Analyst whipped up the following summary of the Big Four bank’s 2017 results for a TV interview during which the host decided to chat about something else.

So here’s are Stuart’s thoughts – now exclusive to the insights blog! continue…

by Roger Montgomery Posted in Financial Services.

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