Today
CBA’s Matt Comyn loses his right-hand man, the meticulous David Cohen
Over 15 years at the bank, David Cohen has seen it all. On his retirement, he provides a potted history of CBA’s numerous troubles and its transformation.
- James Eyers
This Month
- Opinion
- Superannuation
Super performance test review must set a high returns bar
It’s reasonable to ask the question about constraining clean energy investments. But the hurdle must ultimately be whether Australians will retire with more income in retirement than would otherwise be the case.
- Blake Briggs
Industry super fund sanctioned over ‘significant cybersecurity deficiencies’
APRA ordered the fund to bring in external advisers to help improve its cyber defences after a hack and multiple reviews found issues.
- Hannah Wootton
Labor accused of risking super protections in test overhaul
The Coalition says overhauling the annual super fund test would trade away transparency and consumer protections over retirement savings.
- Hannah Wootton and John Kehoe
November
AI a ‘great challenge’, Australian regulators warn
Artificial intelligence increases the potential for consumer harms, collusion and data misuse but would also help enforce laws, Australia’s top watchdogs warn.
- Hannah Wootton
APRA to boost small bank liquidity rules
Mutual banks and credit unions will have to value liquid assets regularly to reduce the risks of a bank run causing contagion to the broader financial system.
- James Eyers
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
Why it’s Michele Bullock versus the Boomers
UBS data shows household income from superannuation is running hot, making the economy more resilient to interest rate rises and inflation stickier.
- James Thomson
Treasury aims to regulate sustainable-investment product labelling
The recommendation is one of several outlined in a strategy paper, which also flags higher disclosure requirements for super funds.
- James Eyers
‘Weak board decision-making’: APRA hits RAC Insurance
The prudential regulator’s action against the West Australian organisation marks its latest snap at customer-owned insurers.
- Liam Walsh
October
Fundamental change needed to get super funds up to scratch, APRA warns
The watchdog also said that funds’ unlisted asset valuations and liquidity management were under scrutiny as any failures to manage these in the current volatile economy risked customers’ savings and the broader financial system.
- Hannah Wootton
- Opinion
- Chanticleer
The $3.5 trillion super sector’s next big problem is already here
Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones has delivered a wake-up call to the sector to lift its game as 5 million Australians approach retirement.
- James Thomson
Mercer to take over ING’s $3b Living Super biz
Mercer has taken over the management of Dutch bank ING’s Aussie pensions business, dubbed Living Super, which manages nearly $3 billion.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Inside the secret Accenture team trying to hack the banks
Jason Ford and his “red teams” have been breaking into banks by fooling workers with the latest psychological tricks targeting the human foibles that leave IT defences vulnerable.
- James Eyers
Super fund QSuper hands back keys to NYC office tower
QSuper has quit a big bet on Manhattan real estate as rising interest rates and falling vacancies spoil its global property interests.
- Jonathan Shapiro
Major banks survive APRA’s ‘severe but plausible’ stress tests
APRA’s chairman said no bank had breached capital and liquidity buffers in tests that assumed house prices fell by a third and unemployment spiked to 10 per cent.
- James Eyers
What super funds spend on ads, donations, exec pay to be made public
APRA warned funds it wants to publish the data. It comes as, in the battle for members, funds launch bigger advertising campaigns and elite sport sponsorship.
- Hannah Wootton
Judo looks to get ahead of APRA with first-ever hybrid deal
Sources reckon Judo wants to get ahead of anything that would clamp down on demand for hybrids.
- Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
September
What to do if your super fund fails the performance test
Around 60,000 investors’ options flunked the annual test this year, and that is set to grow in 2024 as more products are reviewed. If you are one of them, APRA wants you to “think about moving your money”.
- Hannah Wootton
Brace for lower dividends if bank hybrid rules change
Investors should brace for lower dividends and fewer share buybacks from the major banks if they are forced to reduce their reliance on popular, but complex, hybrid bonds to meet capital requirements.
- Lucas Baird
- Opinion
- Hybrids
This is why APRA wants to kill the listed hybrid market
The regulator has put banks and stockbrokers on notice that it intends to rip up the ASX-listed tier one market. The industry is divided on its motivations.
- Jonathan Shapiro
