ANZ chief executive Shayne Elliott said that lender returns in Australia are declining... Sydney home building hits 16-year high...
ANZ pleads diminishing returns as bank CEOs face hearings
(Bloomberg) -- Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. chief executive officer Shayne Elliott said that lender returns in Australia are declining, as he became the second major bank boss to appear before a committee of lawmakers in Canberra.
While he conceded that last financial year’s A$7.5 billion ($5.7 billion) annual profit was “large,” the head of Australia’s third-biggest lender by market capitalization said on Wednesday that represented less than 1 percent of the company’s assets and drew attention to its sliding return on equity. The lender’s ROE has fallen from almost 20 percent within the past decade to a little over 12 percent due to competition and the costs of strengthening its balance sheet, he said.
Elliott’s comments came a day after Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Ian Narev told the same parliamentary committee that a strong banking system and healthy profits are necessary to ensure a prosperous economy. The hearings, which are being conducted for the first time by the same panel that routinely quizzes the head of the Reserve Bank of Australia, are an opportunity for lawmakers to raise questions on issues ranging from fees and executive pay to mortgages and the transmission of official interest-rate cuts. The heads of National Australia Bank Ltd. and Westpac Banking Corp. are scheduled to appear Thursday.
“Returns in Australian banking are trending lower,” Elliott said. While steps to bolster balance sheets were “a sensible and pre-emptive response” there was “a cost to shareholders and customers,” he said.
Sydney home building hits 16-year high
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has welcomed the latest NSW government figures showing new home building in Sydney at a 16-year high.
“These figures from the NSW Department of Planning & Environment indicate that 30,191 new homes were completed in Sydney during 2015/16, the highest since 1999/2000,” said HIA Senior Economist, Shane Garrett.
“This represents a 10.4 per cent increase on the previous financial year, with multi-units now accounting for two out of every three new homes in the Sydney area.
“The output of the residential building industry has provided homes for almost 80,000 people in the Sydney area during 2015/16 alone. It is important that Sydney’s dwelling stock expands in order to accommodate the strong, migration-driven growth in the local labour market."
(Bloomberg) -- Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. chief executive officer Shayne Elliott said that lender returns in Australia are declining, as he became the second major bank boss to appear before a committee of lawmakers in Canberra.
While he conceded that last financial year’s A$7.5 billion ($5.7 billion) annual profit was “large,” the head of Australia’s third-biggest lender by market capitalization said on Wednesday that represented less than 1 percent of the company’s assets and drew attention to its sliding return on equity. The lender’s ROE has fallen from almost 20 percent within the past decade to a little over 12 percent due to competition and the costs of strengthening its balance sheet, he said.
Elliott’s comments came a day after Commonwealth Bank of Australia CEO Ian Narev told the same parliamentary committee that a strong banking system and healthy profits are necessary to ensure a prosperous economy. The hearings, which are being conducted for the first time by the same panel that routinely quizzes the head of the Reserve Bank of Australia, are an opportunity for lawmakers to raise questions on issues ranging from fees and executive pay to mortgages and the transmission of official interest-rate cuts. The heads of National Australia Bank Ltd. and Westpac Banking Corp. are scheduled to appear Thursday.
“Returns in Australian banking are trending lower,” Elliott said. While steps to bolster balance sheets were “a sensible and pre-emptive response” there was “a cost to shareholders and customers,” he said.
Sydney home building hits 16-year high
The Housing Industry Association (HIA) has welcomed the latest NSW government figures showing new home building in Sydney at a 16-year high.
“These figures from the NSW Department of Planning & Environment indicate that 30,191 new homes were completed in Sydney during 2015/16, the highest since 1999/2000,” said HIA Senior Economist, Shane Garrett.
“This represents a 10.4 per cent increase on the previous financial year, with multi-units now accounting for two out of every three new homes in the Sydney area.
“The output of the residential building industry has provided homes for almost 80,000 people in the Sydney area during 2015/16 alone. It is important that Sydney’s dwelling stock expands in order to accommodate the strong, migration-driven growth in the local labour market."
