Mortgage brokers were responsible for 67% of the growth in the mortgage market in the year to September, according to research group ‘comparator’. The research commissioned by the Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia showed that of the $56.2 billion increase in mortgage lending in ABS Housing Loan statistics, brokers accounted for $37.7 billion, comparing […]
Property investment promoter, Park Trent Properties Group has been taken to court by ASIC for unlawfully promoting the use of Self Managed Super Funds to purchase investment property. ASIC alleges and is seeking declarations that Park Trent is unlawfully carrying on a financial services business without an Australian financial services licence. According to the regulator, […]
A Gold Coast-based credit finance and property management company has entered into an enforceable undertaking with ASIC over misleading advertising of financing options for home loans. From January 2012 to July 2014, Equanimity Concepts advertised that they could help consumers pay off their home loan in a very short amount of time. ASIC cites one […]
Former prime minister Paul Keating has weighed in on the issue of investor lending by calling on the government to rein in borrowing SMSFs. Speaking at a MaxCap banking forum in Melbourne, Mr Keating said the “dramatic acceleration” in investor lending was a direct result of SMSFs and their ability to borrow. “If I was […]
A new report has shown Australians are the richest people on the planet and, apparently, it’s all thanks to our houses. And the root cause of our good luck? Yes, it’s home ownership. The study found that the average Aust household had $319,700 of equity in their homes, which represented about 60 % of each […]
Consumers remain pessimistic about the Australian economy for the eight Consecutive month, but it isn’t as bad as it seems. Even though October marks the eight month that Westpac Melbourne Institute of Consumer Sentiment scored below 100- which indicates that pessimists outnumbered optimists – it isn’t all bad news. Bill Evans, chief economist at Westpac […]
CBA chief executive Ian Narev has spoken frankly about the importance of Consumer trust, following revelations about poor financial advice within the bank earlier this year. Speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce lunch, Mr Narev said the topic of trust within financial services has been a “big topic of conversation at the CBA over […]
Bank of Qld’s profits will be hit by more than $22 million after it reached a settlement with ASIC over the Storm Financial collapse. The bank announced yesterday that it had resolved both of its outstanding Storm Financial proceedings, subject to Federal Court approval. The two proceedings are ASIC’s unregistered managed investment scheme proceedings, which […]
New research reveals that Aussies are staying on top of their mortgage commitments, thanks to the strong housing market and low interest rates. According to ratings agency Fitch’s Dinkum RMBS Index, mortgage arrears remained stable in the second quarter of 2014 due to the intense competition in the mortgage market keeping interest rates at rock […]
The competition for top spot in customer satisfaction rating among the major banks is narrowing, new research has shown. The latest Roy Morgan Research banking customer satisfaction survey has seen Commonwealth Bank retain its top spot among the majors for customer satisfaction at 81.5%. But Westpac has narrowed CBA’s lead, ranking 80.2% for customer satisfaction. […]
