Yesterday
- Exclusive
- Executive pay
Confidential documents outline BoQ’s profit targets
If hit, the bank’s cash profit will be well above what the market expects this year. But analysts have warned it has a poor track record of meeting goals.
- Lucas Baird
This Month
Brookfield-backed debt collection giant Panthera finds new owner
Privately owned credit agency Francom has emerged as the new owner of the company, which collapsed this year following a dispute between its founders.
- Kylar Loussikian
Banks, insurers told to work harder to prevent financial abuse
A committee chaired by Labor senator Deborah O’Neill has tabled 61 recommendations to reduce the insidious practice.
- James Eyers
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
No one has come out of CBA’s cash blunder looking good
The bank’s fee mess is an uncharacteristic stuff-up. But it’s also a missed opportunity to have proper debate about technology, economic growth and equity.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Business People of the Year
Matt Comyn finds his voice – and delivers for shareholders
The CEO has driven the Commonwealth Bank from strength to strength, propelling him on to the 2024 The Australian Financial Review Business People of the Year list.
- James Eyers
CBA backs down on withdrawal fee after Chalmers leans on Comyn
Treasurer Jim Chalmers had called the $3 charge for branch withdrawals “unacceptable”. Australia’s largest bank reconsidered.
- James Eyers and John Kehoe
NAB won’t lean on rates in fight for business lending crown
“You have to be competitive on price – that is the ticket to the game – but you don’t have to be the cheapest,” business banking boss Rachel Slade says.
- Lucas Baird
November
CBA prepares for AI to transform banking, with dozens of uses
The country’s biggest bank is already using AI to resolve 15,000 payment disputes every day. And its chief executive, Matt Comyn, says many more uses are on the way.
- James Eyers and Lucas Baird
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
CBA’s Matt Comyn on AI: ‘Are you at the table or on the menu?’
The pace of change in the world of AI in the past year has been stunning, the CBA boss says. But there are big strategic questions for the bank to work through.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Private credit will lick its lips over Peabody’s $3.2b bridge loan
We’ve seen this movie elsewhere in Australian coal: a miner buys mines, and funds the deal with a short-term loan. Enter private credit.
- Anthony Macdonald
Home loan stress rises to $23b, doubling since 2016
John Lonsdale used the situation to push back on calls to reduce borrower stress-testing standards.
- Updated
- Lucas Baird and James Eyers
- Opinion
- Big four
Home borrowers will pay for the rural bank branch levy
Treasury has come up with a radical but rushed plan to make all banks fund those with the biggest regional reach. But there is no guarantee that it will work.
- John Kehoe
- Opinion
- The AFR View
Branchless banks should not have to prop up bricks-and-mortar rivals
Before the government imposes a new levy to keep regional branches open and head off a Coalition attack, the competition and innovation effects must be weighed.
- The AFR View
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
New CEO takes a turn to ‘Make MLC Great Again’
The last owner to make good money out of MLC was Lendlease, more than two decades ago. But it is coming back.
- Anthony Macdonald
New Bendigo boss’ first move? Raising mortgage rates for Up customers
Richard Fennell said the digital challenger brand would lift interest rates for borrowers in the coming days. It is the cheapest offering in the market.
- Lucas Baird
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
ANZ has a plan to break from the pack. It must pass these four tests
Chief executive Shayne Elliott has bet the bank’s next growth era on two big tech platforms and the Suncorp deal. But he needs to convince the market these moves are working.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why NAB is taking a leaf out of CBA’s book
Andrew Irvine is borrowing from Matt Comyn’s successful strategy of creating a virtuous flywheel in consumer banking.
- James Thomson
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Westpac’s departing King sees two pain points for Australia
Peter King leaves having steered Westpac through an impressive turnaround. But he sees two problems Australia needs to solve.
- James Thomson
October
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
‘It comes down to housing all the time’: NAB chief’s growth warning
The bank’s boss, Andrew Irvine, says access to talent is the biggest hurdle for SME growth. But our housing crisis isn’t helping.
- James Thomson
Zip banks on interest rate cuts as transaction volumes soar
The buy now, pay later group has endured a difficult two years and returned to growth, particularly in the US, where the majority of sales are processed.
- James Eyers
