ANALYSIS: Positive news on employment and among some key commodities appears to mark a positive trend for the state's economy, and Business News' BN30 stock index backs that up.
Westpac has entered into exclusive discussions with property giant Charter Hall Group to sell its infrastructure investment business Hastings Management.
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 corporate watchdog has banned a Perth financial adviser from the industry for failing to act in the best interests of his clients while he was employed by a subsidiary of Westpac.
OPINION: Those among us who are unfamiliar with the term ‘collateral damage' are about to learn its meaning first hand, because it is what we have become – innocent victims of bad governance across Australia.
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.
The corporate watchdog has banned a former Westpac employee from providing financial services after finding he mishandled more than $1 million worth of advice service obligations.
OPINION: More does not always mean better. This fact of life, told by generations of mothers to their children, is something Australia's banks are discovering as they fight to defend their handsome profits from the latest tax raid.
Westpac says the government's new bank levy will hit its second-half profit by $65 million and will be the equivalent of a 4.3 per cent cut to dividend over a full financial year.
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.
OPINION: Bank bashing is one of Australia's favourite sports, and while it is generally played when banks are behaving badly, there is a time when the banks become political footballs for playing well, which is what will probably happen next week – for 16 billion reasons.
A recent flurry of leasing deals by oil and gas-related firms has provided hope that Perth's CBD office market has hit the bottom, despite further downsizing expected in the energy sector throughout 2017.
Banking giant Westpac has been confirmed as the newest tenant for Brookfield Place Tower 2, as one of the city's newest office towers moves towards full occupancy.
Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer says his bank is putting customers first by backing open data and denies it did the opposite by suggesting they join its poorly performing superannuation fund.
Consumers are optimistic about their future finances, but they're still worried about the contraction of the economy reported last month, Westpac says.
Aspiring miner Dacian Gold has started construction of its Mt Morgans project near Laverton, after finalising regulatory approvals and locking in a $150 million funding deal over the Christmas break.
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has permanently banned a former Perth-based finance broker after finding he had engaged in misleading conduct.
National Australia Bank and Westpac have raised interest rates on certain types of mortgages as Australia's biggest lenders seek to offset some of the pressure on their margins.
Perth-based financial services provider Pioneer Credit has signed a $100 million debt facility with Bankwest and Westpac as it seeks to continue growing its debt portfolio.
Ferry operator Rottnest Express has partnered with Westpac to trial the use of a payment card that's popular with Chinese tourists, for online payment for its services to the tourist hotspot.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac and National Australia Bank have seemingly failed to secure permission to collectively bargain with Apple for iPhone users to make mobile payments from their own digital wallets, rather than Apple Pay.
Senior executives have created a poor compliance culture at the four major banks and should be named and shamed over mistreatment of customers, a parliamentary inquiry has found.
Law firm Gilbert + Tobin is the latest company in Perth to shift address, as firms with expiring leases take advantage of the most tenant-friendly market in 25 years.
Perth gold miner Saracen Mineral Holdings has locked in a financing facility of up to $150 million with a banking syndicate, replacing a previous loan deal that expired in September.
The big four banks and AMP are likely to refund at least $178 million to more than 200,000 customers who did not receive financial advice for which they were charged.
Consumer confidence has experienced a relatively stable six months, while economists expect the unemployment rate to have remained steady at 5.7 per cent in August.
The Australian share market lost its early morning gains to close at its lowest level since July on concerns about future stimulus programs by central banks.
