Top related persons:
Top related locs:
Top related orgs:

Search resuls for: "Westpac"


25 mentions found


Dollar hovers near highs as U.S. yields surge; PBOC bolsters yuan
  + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com   time to read: +3 min
In this photo illustration, 100 U.S. dollar notes and 100 yuan notes are displayed. Money markets currently lay a bit less than 50/50 odds for another 25 basis point Fed hike by November, before the central bank shifts to rate cuts next year. The offshore yuan was little changed at 7.2872, after firming about 0.1% after the fixing. The Australian dollar , which often trades as a proxy to China, was also little changed at $0.6413 after initially strengthening slightly following the fixing. The Aussie has grinded higher in recent sessions after dropping to a 9 1/2-month low of $0.6365 on Thursday.
Persons: Richard Franulovich, Jerome Powell's, Franulovich, Powell, Kristina Clifton Organizations: U.S, U.S ., Westpac, Treasury, Commonwealth Bank of Australia Locations: Jackson Hole , Wyoming, China's, Beijing, China
Strategist discusses outlook for the Chinese yuan
  + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com   time to read: 1 min
Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChinese yuan: Authorities want pace of decline to be as slow as possible, strategist saysSean Callow of Westpac Bank discusses the outlook for the Chinese yuan and says "we're getting a clear message from the daily fixing that they want to keep a lid on the pace of depreciation."
Persons: Sean Callow, we're Organizations: Westpac Bank
Shares of Sydney-based Westpac fell about 2.1% to trade at A$20.82 at 0040 GMT, hitting their lowest since July 12. Broadly, Australia's major banks have all flagged stiff competition in the mortgage space, along with higher expenses as inflationary pressures weigh. The higher interest rates have also contributed to increased living costs, which are pushing up debt arrears. Westpac did not publish a comparable quarterly net profit figure for the same period a year earlier. The figure reported on Monday was below the A$2 billion average profit for the first two quarters of fiscal 2023.
Persons: David Gray, Riya Sharma, Archishma Iyer, Sam Holmes, Christopher Cushing Organizations: Australia's Westpac Banking Corp, REUTERS, Westpac Banking Corp, Sydney, Westpac, Citi, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia Bank, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia
Westpac flags margin squeeze from rising home loan competition
  + stars: | 2023-08-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +2 min
REUTERS/David Gray Acquire Licensing RightsSummaryCompanies Reports quarterly cash profit A$1.8 billionLate loan repayments rises to 0.8% in AustraliaCET1 Ratio of 11.9%Aug 21 (Reuters) - Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX), Australia's third-largest lender, on Monday posted a quarterly cash profit of A$1.8 billion ($1.15 billion), as increased competition for home lending squeezed margins. Australia's major banks have all flagged stiff competition in the mortgage space, along with higher expenses as inflationary pressures weigh. Sydney-based Westpac said expenses for the second half to date were up 5% from the first half, fuelled by higher supplier costs and staff wages. In Australia, loan repayments past 90 days late rose to 0.80% in the three-months ended June, up 7 basis points from 0.73% in March, Westpac said. The lender reported a core net interest margin of 1.86% for the quarter, down 4 basis points from the first half of fiscal 2023.
Persons: David Gray, Riya Sharma, Archishma Iyer, Lisa Shumaker, Sam Holmes Organizations: Australia's Westpac Banking Corp, REUTERS, Westpac Banking Corp, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Australia Bank, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia
A worker pushes a trolley loaded with goods past a construction site in the central business district (CBD) of Sydney in Australia, March 15, 2018. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsSYDNEY, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Australia employment unexpectedly fell in July to end two months of very strong growth, while the jobless rate ticked higher in a sign the drum-tight labour market might finally be loosening. "Even so, the deterioration in the labour market has a long way to run before the RBA can completely relax." The labour market has proved remarkably resilient with 399,000 net jobs added in the 12 months to July even as interest rates have climbed 400 basis points to a decade-high of 4.1%. "It is getting harder to argue for a sustained lift in wage inflation momentum," said Justin Smirk, a senior economist at Westpac.
Persons: David Gray, Ben Udy, Justin Smirk, Wayne Cole, Jacqueline Wong, Sam Holmes Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Bank of Australia, Australian Bureau of Statistics, ABS, Oxford Economics Australia, Westpac, Thomson Locations: Sydney, Australia
Banks now must sacrifice profit to keep customers who are struggling to make repayments on time. Cash profit for the year ended June 30 rose 6% to A$10.16 billion, slightly ahead of analyst forecasts, but CBA put aside $A1.47 billion more in provisions due to "ongoing cost of living pressures and rising interest rates". CBA stopped offering cash payments for mortgage refinancings to lure new borrowers in June, which CEO Matt Comyn said had "weighed on our market share". CBA's mortgage book grew in line with the total market in 2023. The number of borrowers struggling to repay loans, while rising, remained below pre-pandemic levels "but these figures will rise", Comyn said.
Persons: Banks, Matt Comyn, Comyn, Australia's, Byron Kaye, Sameer Manekar, Anil D'Silva, Stephen Coates, Jamie Freed Organizations: CBA, SYDNEY, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Citi, National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ Group, Thomson Locations: COVID, Sydney, Bengaluru
"The big thing we're watching for is any sign that rates of bad and doubtful debt are rising," Macquarie analysts said. Analysts at Citi expect cash profit to rise 3.5% to A$9.93 billion, while a Visible Alpha consensus estimate stands at A$10.11 billion. "Most banks may maintain buy-backs and lift dividends as they are still healthy on capital ratios." The heavyweight banking index, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials (.AXFJ), has gained 0.4% so far this year, as of last close. ($1 = 1.5230 Australian dollars)Reporting by Upasana Singh and Rishav Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'SilvaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: David Gray, Banks, Macquarie, Morgan Stanley, Tina Teng, Upasana Singh, Rishav Chatterjee, Anil D'Silva Organizations: REUTERS, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ Group, Reserve Bank of Australia, Macquarie, CBA, Citi, NAB, ANZ, WBC, Thomson Locations: Melbourne, Southbank, Australia, Bengaluru
The BOJ sets policy later in the session. The Nikkei newspaper reported, without citing sources, that policymakers will discuss tweaking the yield control policy to allow 10-year government bond yields above a 0.5% cap in some circumstances. "I think the idea is even a tiny tweak is a big deal for the BOJ. Japan's Nikkei (.N225) opened 1.4% lower though bank shares (.IBNKS.T) surged to an eight-year high on the prospect of rising interest income at lenders. Further strong U.S. data, with better-than-expected second-quarter growth figures out overnight drove up longer-end Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar.
Persons: Imre Speizer, We'll, Kristina Clifton, Christine Lagarde, Lagarde, Jerome Powell, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: Nikkei, ECB, SYDNEY, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank, Westpac, Japan's Nikkei, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Federal Reserve, Fed, U.S ., Nasdaq, Intel, Brent, Thomson Locations: Tokyo, Asia, Pacific, Japan
Traders also awaited policy decisions from the European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of Japan (BoJ) this week. FOCUS ON CENTRAL BANKSElsewhere, the ECB sets policy on Thursday. Again, a quarter point hike is widely expected, but building evidence of an economic slowdown has called into question the chances of another by year-end. The Australian dollar slid 0.4% to $0.6766 after slower-than-expected inflation data suggested the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would forgo a rate hike on Aug. 1. Money markets are split between a 25 basis point (bp) or a 50 bp rate hike.
Persons: Jerome, Powell, Joseph Capurso, Capurso, Sean Callow, Sterling, Kevin Buckland, Joice Alves, Mark Potter Organizations: Federal, Traders, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan, U.S, Money, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, FOCUS, ECB, Australian, Reserve Bank of Australia, Westpac, U.S ., Bank of, Thomson Locations: LONDON, U.S, Beijing, China, Bank of England, Tokio, London
The Australian dollar slid after benign inflation data suggested the Reserve Bank of Australia would forgo a rate hike next week. The euro slipped 0.16% to $1.1042, bringing it close to the previous session's low of $1.1036, a level last seen on July 12. In the latest data, U.S. consumer confidence increased to a two-year high in July amid a persistently tight labor market and receding inflation. Meanwhile, the European Central Bank sets policy on Thursday. The dollar added 0.12% to 141.15 yen on Wednesday, following a rebound from a multi-week low of 137.245 mid-month.
Persons: Jerome, Powell, Joseph Capurso, Sean Callow, Kevin Buckland, Muralikumar Organizations: Australian, Reserve Bank of Australia, U.S, Federal, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ECB, Bank of Japan, Westpac, Thomson Locations: TOKYO, Beijing, China
Dollar near two-week high as Fed decision looms, Aussie falls
  + stars: | 2023-07-26 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com   time to read: +3 min
The dollar hovered close to a two-week high versus the euro on Wednesday, while the yen consolidated near the middle of its range this month as traders awaited crucial policy decisions from the nations' central banks this week. The Australian dollar slid after benign inflation data suggested the Reserve Bank of Australia would forgo a rate hike next week. In the latest data, U.S. consumer confidence increased to a two-year high in July amid a persistently tight labor market and receding inflation. "If the ECB retain their hawkish bias, by no means guaranteed but more likely than the FOMC, euro is likely to track higher this week." The dollar added 0.12% to 141.15 yen on Wednesday, following a rebound from a multi-week low of 137.245 mid-month.
Persons: Jerome, Powell, Joseph Capurso, Sean Callow Organizations: Australian, Reserve Bank of Australia, U.S, Federal, U.S . Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, ECB, Bank of Japan, Westpac Locations: Beijing, China
In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailThe British pound 'had a good run' but faces a tough time ahead: Westpac BankSean Callow of Westpac Bank discusses why he isn't bullish on the pound despite inflation cooling in the UK
Persons: Westpac Bank Sean Callow, bullish Organizations: Westpac Bank
July 19 (Reuters) - Westpac Banking Corp (WBC.AX) on Wednesday said it would split its consumer and business banking business into two, with each having its own CEO, effective Aug. 1. The bank said Chris de Bruin, currently head of the combined unit, will leave and named Jason Yetton as CEO of the consumer business and Anthony Miller as CEO of the business and wealth division. Westpac also promoted Nell Hutton to head its institutional bank unit. These changes come at a time when Australia's biggest banks are reeling under the pressures of increased interest rates, which have contributed to slowing credit growth. The Reserve Bank of Australia has raised interest rates by a whopping 400 basis points in just 14 months.
Persons: Chris de Bruin, Jason Yetton, Anthony Miller, Nell Hutton, Harish Sridharan, Savio D'Souza Organizations: Westpac Banking Corp, Westpac, Reserve Bank of Australia, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru
[1/2] A New Zealand Dollar note is seen in this picture illustration June 2, 2017. Against a basket of currencies, the U.S. dollar rebounded from a 15-month low hit in the previous session, with its index steadying at 99.943 in early Asia trade. Sterling <GBP=D3> bought $1.3035, ahead of UK inflation data due later on Wednesday. "The stickiness of UK inflation measures has contrasted notably with price measures in both the euro zone and the U.S. which have been moving lower," said Rabobank's head of FX strategy Jane Foley. "While inflation is 'lower', it is not 'low' by any stretch of the imagination.
Persons: Thomas White, Tina Teng, Klaas, Jane Foley, Satish Ranchhod, Kazuo Ueda, Rae Wee, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: REUTERS, New Zealand, U.S ., U.S, CMC Markets, Reuters, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, ECB, Sterling, Bank of, Reserve Bank of New, Westpac, Australian, Bank of Japan, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Asia, U.S, Bank of England, New Zealand, Reserve Bank of New Zealand
English, American and New Zealand currency around a paper map of the world. The dollar held just above an over one-year low on Wednesday as traders assessed the U.S. rate outlook, while the New Zealand dollar spiked briefly after a higher-than-expected inflation reading pushed back prospects of policy easing further out. Sterling bought $1.3035, ahead of U.K. inflation data due later on Wednesday. "The stickiness of U.K. inflation measures has contrasted notably with price measures in both the euro zone and the U.S. which have been moving lower," said Rabobank's head of FX strategy Jane Foley. "While inflation is 'lower', it is not 'low' by any stretch of the imagination.
Persons: Tina Teng, Klaas, Sterling, Jane Foley, Satish Ranchhod, Kazuo Ueda Organizations: New Zealand, U.S ., U.S, CMC Markets, Reuters, Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, ECB, Bank of, Reserve Bank of New, Westpac, Australian, Bank of Japan Locations: Zealand, Asia, U.S, Bank of England, New Zealand, Reserve Bank of New Zealand
SYDNEY, July 14 (Reuters) - National Australia Bank (NAB) (NAB.AX), the No.3 lender, reached a deal that lets employees work from home, a union said on Friday, one of the world's first to give private-sector staff legal protection for remote work. This week the Australian federal body that sets public sector wages also agreed to a union request for uncapped work from home days. Some of Australia's biggest companies, including NAB and larger rival Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) (CBA.AX), have set minimum office attendance requirements. A CBA spokesperson said the bank respected its existing union agreement "and those matters that require consultation". 2 bank Westpac (WBC.AX) and the FSU are currently negotiating a new enterprise deal which includes the question of whether to allow work from home, the union said.
Persons: CBA's, Byron Kaye, Jamie Freed, Lincoln Organizations: SYDNEY, National Australia Bank, NAB, Finance Sector Union, FSU, Australia's, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, CBA, Fair, Commission, Westpac, Thomson
Dollar deepens dive on inflation surprise
  + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com   time to read: +4 min
The euro made a fresh 15-month high of $1.1148 in Asia on Thursday and the yen touched its strongest since mid-May at 138.08 per dollar. U.S. core inflation came in at 0.2% in June against market expectations for 0.3%. Moves in other currencies were smaller but still delivered new milestones as traders reckon the dollar has further to drop. The Swiss franc hit its strongest since 2015 at 0.8655 to the dollar and sterling a 15-month top of $1.3019. Amongst the dollar selling, one outlier was perhaps the yen which has led gains.
Persons: Imre Speizer, Malaysia's, Pita Limjaroenrat, Steve Englander, Kazuo, Ueda, Chang Wei Liang, Tom Westbrook, Jamie Freed, Kim Coghill Organizations: month's, U.S, Westpac, New Zealand, Swiss, Standard Chartered, Bank of Japan, Fed, Central Bank, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Asia, Scandinavia
Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailAustralia's central bank will likely have to hike interest rates further, economist saysBill Evans of Westpac says there's a "high level" of job vacancies and it'll be difficult to bring down the unemployment rate.
Persons: Bill Evans Organizations: Westpac
The economy is forecast to weaken further as the impact of 525 basis points of RBNZ rate rises becomes more visible. All 25 economists polled by Reuters July 3-6 expected the RBNZ to hold the official cash rate (OCR) (NZINTR=ECI) at 5.50% on July 12. It would be the first time the RBNZ has not raised rates at a policy meeting in nearly two years. The central bank raised rates in May but signalled it was done tightening. Over 90% of economists pollled, 23 of 24, did not predict any changes to rates this quarter.
Persons: Jarrod Kerr, pollled, Nick Tuffley, Devayani Sathyan, Susobhan Sarkar, Hari Kishan, Ross Finley, Kim Coghill Organizations: Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Reuters, ANZ, ASB, Bank of New, Kiwibank, Westpac, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Bank of New Zealand
July 7 (Reuters) - National Australia Bank (NAB) (NAB.AX) on Friday said it would refresh its approach to like-for-like refinancing criteria to help customers who would otherwise fail to meet an industry standard that assesses their ability to repay loans. Last month, top lender Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA.AX) cut its buffer rate for some borrowers refinancing their existing home loan to 1% from the industry standard of 3%. After NAB, ANZ Group Holdings (ANZ.AX) is the only bank left among the top four to ease refinancing loans criteria for customers unable to meet APRA standard. NAB said the changes to its refinancing criteria will apply from July 21, but added that it will take a "case-by-case" approach when assessing appropriate serviceability. Reporting by Himanshi Akhand and Sameer Manekar in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H KOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Persons: Himanshi Akhand, Sameer Manekar, Varun Organizations: National Australia Bank, NAB, Reuters, The, Prudential Regulation Authority, APRA, Reserve Bank, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corp, ANZ Group Holdings, ANZ, Thomson Locations: Bengaluru
The economy is forecast to weaken further as the impact of 525 basis points of RBNZ rate rises becomes more visible. All 25 economists polled by Reuters July 3-6 expected the RBNZ to hold the official cash rate (OCR) (NZINTR=ECI) at 5.50% on July 12. It would be the first time the RBNZ has not raised rates at a policy meeting in nearly two years. The central bank raised rates last month but signalled it was done tightening. Over 90% of economists pollled, 23 of 24, did not predict any changes to rates this quarter.
Persons: Jarrod Kerr, pollled, Nick Tuffley, Devayani Sathyan, Susobhan Sarkar, Hari Kishan, Ross Finley, Kim Coghill Organizations: Reserve Bank of New Zealand, Reuters, ANZ, ASB, Bank of New, Kiwibank, Westpac, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Bank of New Zealand
SINGAPORE, July 6 (Reuters) - The dollar was broadly higher on Thursday, after the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest policy meeting cemented market expectations for a rate hike this month. Against the dollar, the euro touched a near one-week low of $1.0843 in early Asia trade, while sterling dipped 0.08% to $1.26925. Markets are now pricing in an 89% chance that the Fed will raise rates by 25 basis points at its policy meeting later this month, according to the CME FedWatch tool. Elsewhere, the yen rose more than 0.2% to 144.30 per dollar, as worries over potential intervention from Japanese authorities to shore up the yen capped its decline. The Chinese yuan last bought 7.2593 per dollar in the offshore market , after having fallen about 0.4% the previous session.
Persons: Alvin Tan, Sean Callow, it's, Rae Wee, Jacqueline Wong Organizations: Federal, Treasury, Asia FX, RBC Capital Markets, Fed, Westpac, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Asia, China
The RBA began tightening policy in May 2022 and had raised rates at every meeting since, other than a pause in April. Along with a still-strong job market and a rebound in house prices, expectations have strengthened for a rate increase at the August meeting. More than 90% of respondents, 23 of 25, in a July 4-5 poll expected the RBA to increase its official cash rate (AUCBIR=ECI) by 25 basis points to 4.35% at the Aug. 1 meeting. "We suspect that the coming forecast update from the RBA staff will likely tip the balance in favour of an August rate hike. Boyton said he expected a peak cash rate of 4.60% but the outlook was uncertain following the central bank's recent pause.
Persons: Adam Boyton, Boyton, Chris Read, Morgan Stanley, Devayani Sathyan, Susobhan Sarkar, Hari Kishan, Ross Finley Organizations: Reserve Bank of Australia, ANZ, CBA, NAB, Westpac, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Australia
While the latest monthly measure of consumer prices showed inflation slowed to 5.6% in May from 6.8% in April, it was still well above the RBA's 2-3% target range, suggesting more tightening may be required. "We don't think a pause in July will reduce the total number of cash rate hikes the Reserve Bank needs to do. Among major local banks, ANZ, NAB and Westpac expected a hike on Tuesday while CBA predicted no move. Just over half of economists, 16 of 30, predicted rates to peak at 4.60% or higher by end-September. Median forecasts showed rates would remain at 4.60% until end-2023.
Persons: Adelaide Timbrell, Taylor Nugent, Devayani Sathyan, Veronica Khongwir, Hari Kishan, Jonathan Cable, Kim Coghill Organizations: Reserve Bank of, ANZ, Bank, NAB, Westpac, CBA, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Reserve Bank of Australia, Australia
While the latest monthly measure of consumer prices showed inflation slowed to 5.6% in May from 6.8% in April, it was still well above the RBA's 2-3% target range, suggesting more tightening may be required. Just over half of economists, 16 of 30, predicted rates to peak at 4.60% or higher by end-September. Of the remaining, 13 saw rates at 4.35% and one expected no change from 4.10%. That was 25 basis points higher than the peak expected in a poll taken after the June meeting. Median forecasts showed rates would remain at 4.60% until end-2023.
Persons: Adelaide Timbrell, Taylor Nugent, Devayani Sathyan, Veronica Khongwir, Hari Kishan, Jonathan Cable, Kim Coghill Organizations: Reserve Bank of, ANZ, Bank, NAB, Westpac, CBA, Thomson Locations: BENGALURU, Reserve Bank of Australia, Australia
Total: 25