Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA):
Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn has revealed the company is trawling back over the governance in its wealth management business to determine whether there will be “further consequences” for management over its fees-for-no-service scandal. Appearing before the House of Representatives economics committee today, Mr Comyn said the bank had looked at each of the individual cases before the financial services royal commission to see whether the conduct could have applied to CBA. Mr Comyn said management was examining whether the conduct in the financial advice and wealth management business was “at the appropriate levels of accountability” for historical behaviour. CBA, the nation’s largest bank, also revealed it had paid out $1.4 billion in customer remediation over the last five years, which Mr Comyn said would be a cost ultimately borne by shareholders. Liberal MP Tim Wilson, the chair of the committee, asked Mr Comyn whether there were “any nervous executives or anyone else in the CBA” after Commissioner Kenneth Hayne referred several potential legal actions to the Australian Securities & Investment Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. “We’re looking back at our management of that issue and whether …there was new information that came to light,” Mr Comyn said, noting that any information could “determine further consequences throughout the year”.
InvoCare Ltd (IVC):
Funeral home manager InvoCare is set to raise $85 million through an institutional placement and share purchase plan to pursue growth opportunities. In a note to the market this morning, InvoCare said it had accelerated its capital raising plans after positive reaction to its FY2018 results but said as a consequence its Dividend Reinvestment Plan would no longer be underwritten. “We have structured our funding policy to retain an appropriate level of flexibility to allow for both of our growth strategies to continue at an appropriate pace. Having received encouragement from shareholders and investors, we are now pleased to provide eligible shareholders with the opportunity to invest as we continue a disciplined acceleration of our growth capital investment program,” chief Martin Earp said. Shares will be offerred to institutions at an underwritten floor price of $13.30 per share, a 7.3 per cent discount to its last closing price of $14.34.
IOOF Holdings Ltd (IFL):
Embattled wealth manager IOOF Holdings has slipped out of the benchmark S&P/ASX100 after the Australian share market indices’ quarterly rebalancing. The Melbourne-based financial services firm that had its reputation battered during the royal commission was the sole company relegated from the top 100 list, making way for investment house Washington H Soul Pattinson.
Yellow Brick Road Holdings Ltd (YBR):
YBR slashed its goodwill by $34 million to zero, a hit from the fallout of the Hayne royal commission. The brokerage told the stock exchange the cut was due to uncertainty, negative consumer sentiment and decreased home loan volumes, what was the main factor behind a $34.2m loss for the six months to the end of December.
Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO):
Miner Rio Tinto has shaved $US100 million ($143m) from the original $2.6 billion budget for its new Amrun bauxite mine in far north Queensland and hinted at the potential for a further production boost as global supplies of the metal-making raw material dry up. In December Rio started shipping bauxite from its Cape York facility to customers in China and south to its Gladstone alumina operation, beating its deadline by six weeks. The mine, which will build to peak annual capacity of 22.8 million tonnes by mid-year — will replace depleting production from its East Weipa mine and add a further 10m tonnes to Rio’s annual bauxite capacity. Bauxite is a rock ore that is refined into alumina, which is turned into aluminium in a smelter. The supply boost will allow the producer to capitalise on tighter supplies of higher-grade bauxite, Rio said. The aluminium business was hurt last year by rising costs for inputs such as energy and bauxite, but Rio told investors earlier this week it still sees a “bright future” for the metal. Rio has the potential to ultimately boost production from the mine to 50m tonnes, although any decision on a further expansion is unlikely to be made until well into the next decade.
Westpac Banking Corp (WBC):
Westpac has scrapped sales-related bonuses for its 2300 bank tellers as it aims to rebuild customer trust damaged during the banking royal commission. Westpac, which removed product-related incentives for branch personnel in 2016, will remove customer satisfactionlinked bonuses from April and replace them with a $500 fixed pay increase. “A simple fixed, pay-only model takes us a step further to reinforce the importance of putting the customer first, and providing our 2300 tellers with more clarity and fairness around how their work is remunerated,” Westpac retail chief executive George Frazis said yesterday. Westpac says the move will give customers the assurance they are being served on their banking needs, not sales outcomes. Previous incentives were influenced by factors including branch location and product features, while the new pay increase will ensure recognition is based on individual service. The change also affects tellers at subsidiaries St George, Bank of Melbourne and Bank SA. Westpac and CBA will today front a parliamentary committee over their response to the royal commission.
National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB):
Investors have welcomed NAB’s appointment of Philip Chronican as chairman by driving the lender’s shares to a fresh four-month high. The NAB board unanimously voted to give its interim CEO the task of replacing Ken Henry later this year in one of the lender’s first major steps in rebuilding its reputation following its royal commission mauling. NAB shares were the best performing among the big four banks yesterday, outpacing their rivals and the financial sector. Mr Chronican’s appointment as chairman was announced late on Wednesday and he immediately said that “much needs to change in a meaningful way” at a lender that was roundly criticised by Kenneth Hayne’s final royal commission report, which could suggest the bank will look outside for a new chief executive. The extent of Mr Hayne’s criticism could also mean NAB may not want to make internal appointments to both its most senior roles.
GetSwift Ltd (GSW):
Getswift's new board members may be supporting the company founders, Bane Hunter and former Melbourne Football Club player Joel Macdonald, but major investors are deserting the duo and their embattled logistics solutions group. Getswift shares continued to hit record lows on Thursday as one of its largest investors, Industry Super Holdings, sold down its stake. Industry Super started selling its shares in December and has now reduced its stake from 6.6 per cent to below 5 per cent having sold shares as recently as Monday, according to a statement lodged with the ASX.
(Source: AIMS)
Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn has revealed the company is trawling back over the governance in its wealth management business to determine whether there will be “further consequences” for management over its fees-for-no-service scandal. Appearing before the House of Representatives economics committee today, Mr Comyn said the bank had looked at each of the individual cases before the financial services royal commission to see whether the conduct could have applied to CBA. Mr Comyn said management was examining whether the conduct in the financial advice and wealth management business was “at the appropriate levels of accountability” for historical behaviour. CBA, the nation’s largest bank, also revealed it had paid out $1.4 billion in customer remediation over the last five years, which Mr Comyn said would be a cost ultimately borne by shareholders. Liberal MP Tim Wilson, the chair of the committee, asked Mr Comyn whether there were “any nervous executives or anyone else in the CBA” after Commissioner Kenneth Hayne referred several potential legal actions to the Australian Securities & Investment Commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. “We’re looking back at our management of that issue and whether …there was new information that came to light,” Mr Comyn said, noting that any information could “determine further consequences throughout the year”.
InvoCare Ltd (IVC):
Funeral home manager InvoCare is set to raise $85 million through an institutional placement and share purchase plan to pursue growth opportunities. In a note to the market this morning, InvoCare said it had accelerated its capital raising plans after positive reaction to its FY2018 results but said as a consequence its Dividend Reinvestment Plan would no longer be underwritten. “We have structured our funding policy to retain an appropriate level of flexibility to allow for both of our growth strategies to continue at an appropriate pace. Having received encouragement from shareholders and investors, we are now pleased to provide eligible shareholders with the opportunity to invest as we continue a disciplined acceleration of our growth capital investment program,” chief Martin Earp said. Shares will be offerred to institutions at an underwritten floor price of $13.30 per share, a 7.3 per cent discount to its last closing price of $14.34.
IOOF Holdings Ltd (IFL):
Embattled wealth manager IOOF Holdings has slipped out of the benchmark S&P/ASX100 after the Australian share market indices’ quarterly rebalancing. The Melbourne-based financial services firm that had its reputation battered during the royal commission was the sole company relegated from the top 100 list, making way for investment house Washington H Soul Pattinson.
Yellow Brick Road Holdings Ltd (YBR):
YBR slashed its goodwill by $34 million to zero, a hit from the fallout of the Hayne royal commission. The brokerage told the stock exchange the cut was due to uncertainty, negative consumer sentiment and decreased home loan volumes, what was the main factor behind a $34.2m loss for the six months to the end of December.
Rio Tinto Ltd (RIO):
Miner Rio Tinto has shaved $US100 million ($143m) from the original $2.6 billion budget for its new Amrun bauxite mine in far north Queensland and hinted at the potential for a further production boost as global supplies of the metal-making raw material dry up. In December Rio started shipping bauxite from its Cape York facility to customers in China and south to its Gladstone alumina operation, beating its deadline by six weeks. The mine, which will build to peak annual capacity of 22.8 million tonnes by mid-year — will replace depleting production from its East Weipa mine and add a further 10m tonnes to Rio’s annual bauxite capacity. Bauxite is a rock ore that is refined into alumina, which is turned into aluminium in a smelter. The supply boost will allow the producer to capitalise on tighter supplies of higher-grade bauxite, Rio said. The aluminium business was hurt last year by rising costs for inputs such as energy and bauxite, but Rio told investors earlier this week it still sees a “bright future” for the metal. Rio has the potential to ultimately boost production from the mine to 50m tonnes, although any decision on a further expansion is unlikely to be made until well into the next decade.
Westpac Banking Corp (WBC):
Westpac has scrapped sales-related bonuses for its 2300 bank tellers as it aims to rebuild customer trust damaged during the banking royal commission. Westpac, which removed product-related incentives for branch personnel in 2016, will remove customer satisfactionlinked bonuses from April and replace them with a $500 fixed pay increase. “A simple fixed, pay-only model takes us a step further to reinforce the importance of putting the customer first, and providing our 2300 tellers with more clarity and fairness around how their work is remunerated,” Westpac retail chief executive George Frazis said yesterday. Westpac says the move will give customers the assurance they are being served on their banking needs, not sales outcomes. Previous incentives were influenced by factors including branch location and product features, while the new pay increase will ensure recognition is based on individual service. The change also affects tellers at subsidiaries St George, Bank of Melbourne and Bank SA. Westpac and CBA will today front a parliamentary committee over their response to the royal commission.
National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB):
Investors have welcomed NAB’s appointment of Philip Chronican as chairman by driving the lender’s shares to a fresh four-month high. The NAB board unanimously voted to give its interim CEO the task of replacing Ken Henry later this year in one of the lender’s first major steps in rebuilding its reputation following its royal commission mauling. NAB shares were the best performing among the big four banks yesterday, outpacing their rivals and the financial sector. Mr Chronican’s appointment as chairman was announced late on Wednesday and he immediately said that “much needs to change in a meaningful way” at a lender that was roundly criticised by Kenneth Hayne’s final royal commission report, which could suggest the bank will look outside for a new chief executive. The extent of Mr Hayne’s criticism could also mean NAB may not want to make internal appointments to both its most senior roles.
GetSwift Ltd (GSW):
Getswift's new board members may be supporting the company founders, Bane Hunter and former Melbourne Football Club player Joel Macdonald, but major investors are deserting the duo and their embattled logistics solutions group. Getswift shares continued to hit record lows on Thursday as one of its largest investors, Industry Super Holdings, sold down its stake. Industry Super started selling its shares in December and has now reduced its stake from 6.6 per cent to below 5 per cent having sold shares as recently as Monday, according to a statement lodged with the ASX.
(Source: AIMS)
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