BFCSA Blog

CBA to close institutional equities after alliance with Goldman   James Eyres 8 December 2015 http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/cba-to-close-institutional-equities-after-alliance-with-goldman-20151207-glhnhj.html   Commonwealth Bank of Australia will shut down its institutional equities business, after announcing on Monday a strategic alliance with investment bank Goldman Sachs, which will provide CommSec and CBA private banking clients with investment research and access to equity capital market deals. CBA suggested the "wind-down" of its institutional equities team could result in job losses. The bank is "working through the impact on its people", it said, including considering moving staff into other jobs within CBA or at Goldman. It is understood about 50 CBA staff are affected by the closure The deal follows a hotly contested process, with several large investment banks seeking access to CBA's large retail distribution network. Under the alliance, Goldman Sachs will now have exclusive access to CommSec's extensive retail network, cutting out other investment banks from distributing...

Liquidators seek court quiz over Gunns debt December 29, 2015 12:00am   http://www.themercury.com.au/news/tasmania/liquidators-seek-court-quiz-over-gunns-debt/news-story/bae823f1bbaa774a46997d82032af140   THE liquidators of timber firm Gunns Limited want to quiz the company’s auditors over their role in the 2012 collapse involving $3 billion of liabilities. PPB Advisory has summonsed Leigh Franklin and David Lumley of KPMG’s Hobart office to a public examination under the Corporations Act in the Supreme Court of Victoria early next year. A hearing on December 15 was adjourned with the consent of both parties. Gunns collapsed in September 2012 owing secured creditors $635 million, employees $10 million, unsecured creditors $134 million and $2.2 million in intercompany loans. Associate Justice Simon Gardiner has ordered that Mr Franklin and Mr Lumley produce the books and financial records in their possession, custody or control relating to the examinable affairs of Gunns. A Supreme Court of Victoria file reveals PPB Advisory liquidator Daniel Bryant wants to examine...

Judgement day arrives for illegal foreign buyers By Unconventional Economist in Australian Property, Featured Article at 7:58 am on December 1, 2015 | 93 comments http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2015/12/judgement-day-arrives-for-illegal-foreign-buyers/   By Leith van Onselen   Today is 1 December, which means that the amnesty on illegal foreign buyers of Australian residential real estate is over and the Government’s new penalty regime comes into effect. From today, a foreign national that has been found to have purchased an established dwelling without prior Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval, or has failed to dispose of a property once they have left Australia (in the case of temporary residents), faces increased penalties, including:   Criminal penalty of $135,000 or 3 years imprisonment; or  Civil penalty of the capital gain made on divestment of the property or 25% of the purchase price or market value of the property (whichever is greater). For the first time, third parties that knowingly assist foreigners to illegally purchase Australian homes...

Just like bottom of the harbour days......   ‘We Will Take Action:’ Australian Tax Chief Calls For Global Probe Into Leak Revelations   By Neil Chenoweth November 5, 2014   http://www.icij.org/project/luxembourg-leaks/we-will-take-action-australian-tax-chief-calls-global-probe-leak   Australia’s tax chief may go after some of the country’s biggest corporations for potential discrepancies in their tax payments following the release by ICIJ and partners of confidential agreements made between Luxembourg and multinational corporations.  Chris Jordan, Australia’s Tax Commissioner, told the Australian Financial Review that he has written to other countries to collaborate on a “joint investigation” of the data made public on Wednesday by ICIJ and its partners.  “We will be checking the data that has been published and if we see discrepancies from what we have been told, we will take audit action,” Jordan told the AFR. According to an analysis by the AFR, the Australian government’s own sovereign wealth fund - called the Future Fund...

We are the brokers friend not the brokers enemy.  It is the Gods of Industry, the Masters of the Universe that have consistently told Parliament "its brokers doing the wrong thing."  The documentation gathered by BFCSA members show its the LENDERS TO BLAME and 86% are the Big Four Major Banks as you would find in any banking catastrophe where dabbling in white collar crime driven sub prime lending, is obvious. Australia is only just playing catch-up.  Read the Senate transcripts of the regulators and FOS and COSL - the Ombudsman's services - tainted and over-run by bankers.  To prove that white collar crime pays: consumers are getting a raw deal and brokers are being blamed in Parliament - not by me!  The Lenders invented the entire process, teaching brokers it was all above board!!!!  Medcraft admitted a computer approves the loans and calculators calculate the income used..........................the calculator is rigged at 1.1...

The Industry & Regulatory Maggots involved and profiting from Mortgage Low Doc  Loan Fraud & dastardly Reverse Mortgages would try and have you believe the key issue is:  that borrowers and brokers are in fact altering 2.7 million loan application forms. The key issue according to our courts is NOT presenting an application form to the banks.  The key issue is THE APPROVAL. THE TRUTH IS: The Courts have already ruled the BANKERS are the culprits and THEY ARE responsible for APPROVING the dud documents. Even if the borrowers and/ or broker agents exaggerated the income on the LAFs, (which they did not in most cases), 2.7 million fraudulent LAFS were approved by Major Banks (85% of the market share of Low Docs). These Bankers approved these toxic loans aided by a computer approval process and a service calculator, geared to fudge incoem figures to increase VOLUME in lending to benefit the Banks.   AND THAT...

Well this is no surprise to the victims of Bank Internal Mortgage Fraud and Maladministration in Lending by Major Australian banks.  Will they donate their parting bonuses to BFCSA and the victims of their SERVICE CALCULATOR heist as they run for the EXITS?   Leaving us on the bucket and mob brigade?   YES BIG clean up long overdue..................  Doing a bit of shredding Gail?  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. BREAKING: Big bank gets new deputy amid succession rumours Australian Broker News  http://www.brokernews.com.au/news/breaking-news/newsletter-185066.aspx by AB | 07 Mar 2014   Westpac has appointed finance head Phil Coffey to the newly-created role of deputy chief executive officer, amid whispers of when an announcement can be expected on the future of CEO Gail Kelly.Coffey has been the bank's CFO since 2005, with previous roles at the Reserve Bank and Citicorp.The fact he was promoted by Kelly – who has worked at Westpac for nearly two decades and shows no sign of...

ASIC has failed on all levels and needs to be demolished and restructured.  It has a $450 million budget, brings in an extra $300 million in revenue for Treasury and yet fails to protect consumers.  Then when collapses occur, consumers that have complained to ASIC some time prior, are not even alerted to a court case taking place.  Why we asked?  ASIC simply "does not have to."  ASIC has treated consumers with contempt since inception in 1998. ASIC even permitted FOS to gain documents of the wife's earnings, from a second bank under the Privacy Act to pass the details of the wife's income on to the current bankers, and the wife was not connected to the loan!!!!! Yet when consumer ask for the most basic of information and documentation ASIC permits FOS to say "NO bugger off" to the consumer.  Its a cycle of grand contempt of Australian Citizen's rights...