Three of Australia's big four banks have begun rolling out their new $1 billion payment system that allows customers to transfer funds between rival institutions in near real-time.
Australia's major banks are under mounting pressure today, with a draft report from the Productivity Commission raising doubts about competition levels as regulators apply more scrutiny to three of the 'big four'.
Financial advisers at the big banks have been found to be biased towards their employer's products, which in some cases has left their customers worse off.
Westpac Bank has absorbed the Western Australian business banking operations of its wholly-owned subsidiary St George Bank, adding to a string of changes in the sector.
Australian businesses have cheered the nation's majority 'yes' decision in support of same-sex marriage and are urging federal parliament to legislate quickly.
Treasurer Ben Wyatt has kept open the possibility of a bank tax in Western Australia, after South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill today quietly dropped his state's planned tax on the five biggest financial institutions.
The Australian market has opened lower, with most sectors in the red following a flat US lead, but local shares remain above the psychologically important 6,000 point mark.
The Australian share market is trading solidly higher at lunchtime, with upbeat overnight sentiment lifting the local markets to near 10-year highs and the S&P/ASX200 to twice breach the key 6,
The Australian share market has finished the session in negative territory, with declines in the big banks and the materials sector offsetting a day of strong gains for local oil stocks.
ANZ Banking Group chief executive Shayne Elliott says the lender is watching its mortgage book "like a hawk" for signs of stress as households rack up record debt to meet rising house prices.
ANZ Banking Group will sell its superannuation and some financial planning businesses to financial services group IOOF for $975 million as it continues to weigh how best to offload life insurance.
Fortescue Metals Group has partnered with ANZ Banking Group to set up a $50 million leasing facility for indigenous-owned businesses that have contracts with the iron ore miner.
Australia's biggest banks will have to find billions of dollars of extra cash by 2020, but the new requirement does not look like being much of a problem for them.
The ASX closed 47 points lower after shares in Australia's big four banks were hit by a long-term credit ratings cut by Moody's, due to risks associated with the local housing market.
ANZ Banking Group is raising variable rates on its interest-only mortgages by 0.3 percentage points as it reins in riskier lending in response to regulatory changes.
The new bank levy has opened a Pandora's box that leaves Australia's biggest financial institutions exposed to even higher costs in future, according to a leading industry analyst.
Big banks have warned that customers and shareholders will carry the cost of the federal government's surprise $6.2 billion levy on Australia's largest financial institutions.
The balancing act that allowed Australia's big four banks to lift their combined first-half cash profit to $15.6 billion is getting more precarious, analysts say.
ANZ Banking Group shares have tumbled as much as 3 per cent after the lender fell short of most analysts' expectations with a first-half profit of $3.4 billion.
The new chief executive of HBF believes his international experience will help the not-for-profit health fund grow and prosper in the current challenging market conditions.
ANZ Banking Group and Commonwealth Bank of Australia have raised mortgage rates, with all four of Australia's big banks now having moved out-of-cycle since the US Federal Reserve hiked its cash rate last week.
