BFCSA Blog

BFCSA Members sent in 400 letters and evidence of fraud to CORRUPT ASIC re 2012 Mortgage Fraud.  ASIC told Parliament in evidence: NO SYSTEMIC issues in banking and mortgages.................................................. BFCSA Members AGREE that ASIC cannot be trusted to handle consumer complaints.  Collectively we have amassed mountains of evidence of the corruption if ASIC, sustained over 8 - 10 years.  ASIC protected the Bankers and demonised Consumers and Borrowers.  I personally had over 30 meetings with ASIC executives for over 19 years.  The Commissioners have been fully briefed.  ASIC should have been asking BFCSA/RECA discover the Australian Bankers Control Fraud and Mortgage Fraud.   BREAKING NEWS.....TODAY! ASIC have told the Senate committee on Wednesday that it's finally decided to 'look into' mortgage fraud and see for themsleves "how wide spread it really is!!!"  This is despite ASIC's blatant lies to the Senate, time and again: "we can see no evidence of systemic issues!" CORRUPT ASIC have sat on a mass...

FBAA defends commission model to Senate inquiry   1 May 2017   Annie Kane   https://www.theadviser.com.au/breaking-news/36012-flat-fee-model-could-lead-to-poor-consumer-outcomes-fbaa   The industry association has defended the current broker commission model to the Senate economics references committee and warned that switching to a flat fee model could lead to “extremely poor consumer outcomes”.   At a public hearing in Sydney last week, the executive director of the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA), Peter White, was questioned on the Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) report into remuneration and whether there were any poor consumer outcomes happening in the broker sector.   Touching on the ASIC recommendation that lenders “change their standard commission arrangements so that brokers are not incentivised purely on the size of the loan”, the senate questioned whether fees for service, rather than commissions, would be a suitable alternative.  However, Mr White told the senators that this would not be in the best interest of the...

Record numbers under mortgage stress   1 May 2017 Duncan Hughes http://www.afr.com/personal-finance/record-numbers-under-mortgage-stress-20170501-gvw2vt Record numbers of Australian households face mortgage stress as large loans and rising interest rates start to bite, according to detailed analysis of lending, repayments and household incomes. Affluent suburban postcodes feature among an estimated 1000 households a week expected to face mortgage default over the next 12 months, the analysis reveals. "Debt stress momentum is unprecedented," according to Martin North, principal of research firm Digital Finance Analytics, who has been doing the survey for more than 15 years.  "This is not just about mortgage battlers. It is also hitting the households with bigger incomes and more leverage. It is worrisome," Mr North said. Numbers of borrowers in severe distress has increased by about one-third to about 32,000 in the past 12 months, he said.  Concern that 767,000 households – or one-in-four across the nation – are facing financial distress...

ASIC admits product manufacturers try to shift blame   1 May 2017   Mike Taylor   http://www.moneymanagement.com.au/news/financial-planning/asic-admits-product-manufacturers-try-shift-blame   The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has acknowledged that product manufacturers have too often blamed distributors such as financial planners when product failures have occurred.   ASIC deputy chairman, Peter Kell has told the Senate Economics Committee inquiry into consumer protection in the banking, insurance and financial sector that such instances have occurred over many years.   Explaining why ASIC was pursuing a product intervention power, Kell said there had been an unwillingness on the part of product manufacturers to take responsibility.   Related News:   ·         Investment leaders need to transform their business   ·         Average 3.8 days for approval to go off APL   “… one of the problems we have typically encountered over many years in this sector is that if something goes wrong you often have the product...

300,000 Victorian households struggling to meet repayments Michael Mata 28 April 2017 http://www.yourmortgage.com.au/article/300000-victorian-households-struggling-to-meet-repayments-235555.aspx   Hundreds of thousands of Victorian households are under mortgage stress, and many more would be pushed to the brink of defaulting on their loans if banks continue to hike their interest rates, warns consulting firm Digital Finance Analytics (DFA).  Some 300,000 Victorian homeowners are struggling to meet their mortgage repayments – a figure that would nearly double if interest rates were to rise by 2%. As the Turnbull government scrambles to tackle the housing affordability crisis in the upcoming May budget, economists warn that rising interest rates would hurt those who’re barely holding onto the property ladder.  Modelling produced by the DFA shows that property-owning, working-class families in Narre Warren, Craigieburn, Endeavour Hills, and Berwick are facing the most acute mortgage stress. Even a mere 0.5% interest-rate rise would put an additional 50,000 owner-occupiers and investors...

The financial curse - watch the video!       We can't 'hold back the tide' in housing market: APRA's Wayne Byres   Clancy Yeates   28 April 2017-04-28   http://www.smh.com.au/business/banking-and-finance/we-cant-hold-back-the-tide-in-housing-market-apras-wayne-byres-20170428-gvuqk4.html   Australia's powerful banking regulator has stressed it cannot "hold back the tide" of the property cycle and exert control over house prices, underlining the limitations of recent curbs on bank home lending.  Wayne Byres, chair of the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, highlighted this reality as he also flagged "further tightening" from banks in the $1.5 trillion mortgage market.   In response to a rapid build-up of household debt and soaring Sydney and Melbourne house prices, Mr Byres last month unveiled new caps on interest-only lending by banks, causing lenders to raise interest rates for some borrowers.  ANZ was the latest bank to respond on Friday, raising fixed interest rates for customers taking out interest-only home loans by up to 0.4...

  Inside the House of Reps banking inquiry   By Christian Edwards   1 Day ago   Banking   https://www.rfigroup.com/australian-banking-and-finance/news/inside-house-reps-banking-inquiry     The political divide within the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics inquiry into the banking sector has been thrown into stark relief with the public release of its second report, revealing the frustration of non-government members forced to march to the majority’s beat.   In November 2016 the government-heavy, ten-member committee - including three Opposition and one Greens member - tabled its first ten recommendations to improve the banking system for Australian consumers.   According to committee chair, Liberal MP David Coleman, the second report affirms these and calls on Government implementation, as well as backing the abolition of non-monetary default clauses for loans to small business – a matter examined by the Australian Small business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman, Kate Carnell.   “Each of these Recommendations should...

ATSB ‘look guilty of cover-up’, says MH370 victim’s widow The Australian 12:00am April 20, 2017 Ean Higgins   Australian and Chinese families of those who died on Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 yesterday expressed outrage at Australian authorities’ refusal to release crucial documents, with an Australian widow saying it made them “look more guilty” of a cover-up. Danica Weeks, whose husband Paul perished when the flight went missing three years ago, called on Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Greg Hood to reverse his decision to reject a freedom of ­information request from The Australian. “Who are they trying to save face for; is it the Malaysians or the ATSB?” Ms Weeks, who lives on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast, said yesterday. Mr Hood upheld another ATSB officer’s decision to not ­release opinions of an international team of experts about satellite data which the bureau claims support its theory that MH370 went down in...

APRA should have been more diligent on monitoring data!  F for fail!  Problem for APRA,  they have simply been passing on Bank stats to Treasury and banks lie all the time as to true stats.  So we end up with FAKE STATS and DATA.     New Bank data on investor loans 'may' prompt APRA action 26 March 2017 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-26/trump-administration-dominates-markets-apra-tightens-investment/8386974   Locally is also a bit light-on in terms of fresh data, although February's Reserve Bank's private sector credit survey (Friday) will be keenly watched given investor lending for property appears to have slipped from under the bank regulator's thumb and is growing rapidly again. APRA has bluntly told the big banks they are running near the 10 per cent annual growth speed limit for investor loans. The banks responded by jacking up mortgage rates — particularly for investors — and tightening lending rules. Another spurt could see the lending speed...

If this sort of crap goes on we’d be better off running the country ourselves...now down to public servants working at Maccas and the PM’s trusted asxeman lobbying for Milo McFlurrys’ to be on the menu!  So much for national broadband...and who was responsible for that mess?   Senator James McGrath writes letter to McDonald’s Australia boss to get the Milo McFlurry here Claire Bickers, News Corp Australia Network March 3, 2017 12:48pm http://www.perthnow.com.au/business/work/senator-james-mcgrath-writes-letter-to-mcdonalds-australia-boss-to-get-the-milo-mcflurry-here/news-story/f63f18705078dfd27f510ceb703897f6 A TURNBULL Government minister with a well documented love of Milo is now petitioning McDonald’s to introduce the “Milo McFlurry”. Queensland Senator James McGrath, who is also the Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister, has written to the fast food giant to lobby for “this very Australian dessert” to be added to its menu. The senator took up the fight after McDonald’s Malaysia announced it would reintroduce the Milo McFlurry and McDonald’s Australia confirmed it had no...

Andrew Robb privately pushed minister Kelly O'Dwyer for bank royal commission 'to say we have done it!  She warned banks will crash.  Why?  They have been engaged in criminal activity and the PM knows that to be true.  14 February 2017  ·         Latika Bourke ·         Tom McIlroy http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/andrew-robb-privately-pushed-minister-kelly-odwyer-for-bank-royal-commission-to-say-we-have-done-it-20170213-guc678.html   Former Liberal minister Andrew Robb pressed the Turnbull government to hold a royal commission into the banks but one with a narrower scope to stymie the Labor Party's assault on the major banks, cabinet sources say. A source familiar with the event has confirmed details reported by the Financial Review, saying that Mr Robb, a former trade minster in the Turnbull and Abbott governments, used a private gathering convened by the cabinet minister Kelly O'Dwyer last week to push for an inquiry so that it might close the issue. "He said Labor wouldn't give up on their political demands and maybe we...

Makes you ashamed to be an Australian...the "we will stop the boats" policy has backfired and refugees are being used like cannon fodder! Trump says they are criminals in prison.  They are refugees fleeing persecution and we threw these human beings including children, into prison "camps" no mod cons for years on end.  They are guilty of wanting a better life!  Abbott played on the fear angle to inflict pain on those less fortunate.  Malcolm kept these people on Islands under guard in indefinite detention with multiple spare rooms at his harbourside mansion.  Time to free these 1500 people.  NZ offered to take them and TA and MT said NO.   Exclusive:  Trump has no intention of allowing Aus. refugees to settle in the U.S. Tess Lawrence 5 February 2017 https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/exclusive--trump-has-no-intention-of-allowing-aus-refugees-settle-in-us,9996   Australia’s grubby asylum seeker deal with the U.S. is now looking even more tawdry, reports contributing editor-at-large Tess Lawrence. AUSTRALIA'S ASYLUM SEEKER DIRTY DEAL with America is getting...

George Soros foundation takes on Irish bankers after home foreclosures tripled over last five years Billionaire’s Open Society makes legal case against evictions Dara Doyle Friday 3 February 2017 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/george-soros-open-foundation-irish-bankers-fight-home-foreclosures-mortgage-arrears-missed-payments-a7559661.html  War crimes, attacks on media freedom in former communist states and prejudice against Europe’s Muslims. Now mortgages in Ireland have made it onto the ignominious list for George Soros’s campaigners.   The billionaire investor’s Open Society Foundations is opening a new front in the fight against evictions as the legacy of one of the worst real-estate market crashes in history continues to haunt Ireland.   About one in 10 Irish mortgages is in arrears, or €4.5bn euros ($4.9 bn) of missed payments, and foreclosures tripled over the last five years.    “Essentially, we are aiming to apply a human rights approach in repossession cases,” said Marguerite Angelari, senior attorney at Soros’s organization. “It looks pretty easy to get a repossession order...

WA to conduct a recount of senate votes.    Culleton ruled invalid.   The High Court has ordered a special recount of the WA senate vote after it declared the election of former One Nation senator Rod Culleton invalid. 3 February 2017 updated 12 minutes ago http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-02-03/rod-culleton-election-invalid-high-court-finds/8238104   The High Court has ordered a special recount of the WA senate vote after it declared the election of former One Nation senator Rod Culleton invalid. The court has ordered the vacancy be filled by the recount, with details to be determined by a single justice. The court was asked to rule on whether a conviction at the time of the poll was grounds for disqualifications even though it was later annulled. Mr Culleton was not in Canberra for the ruling. The Senate referred the validity of Mr Culleton's election in November, claiming he had a conviction against his name at the time...

Investigation: social welfare cheats targeted while corporate welfare elite runs amok michaelwest.com.auJanuary 20, 2017 Geordie Wilson and Michael West   AS the storm over social welfare rumbles on with Centrelink and its breathtaking debt recovery bungle, it is worth considering Australia’s corporate welfare elite. It was reported here last year the Big Four accounting firms had picked up $2.6 billion in fees from the Australian government over the past ten years; two thousand six hundred million dollars that is for writing reports, paper shuffling. This is a conservative estimate mind you, based only on the visible data. Now to the states. How much do state governments fork out to PwC, EY, KPMG and Deloitte for telling them what they want to hear? This is a murky swamp – the data is difficult to access, it is opaque. Though it is fair to say that Australian governments, state and federal, over the...

PUT SOME LAMB on the BARBIE and for one day of the year lets celebrate all the good stuff that makes us all "Aussies" and proud.   The negative comments re this years LAMB Ads is unAustralian, so lets put the record straight. We do not have civil war in this country. The actors (some famous) who came together to bring you this ad, believed it to be in good taste - and funny. And its a ripper. Taste is what the ads are about: tasting a lamb chop on the barbie and having a day off. There is nothing better.   FACT: Yes we squabble at time with families no matter which family background we have , no matter which country we originally came from, no matter whether we were the first inhabitants, and no matter which "boat" we arrived on. We celebrate us and thats worth celebrating as...

Western Australian Senator Rod Culleton resigns from One Nation Australian Financial Review Dec 19 2016 12:40 AM Primrose Riordan   Embattled Western Australian Senator Rod Culleton has resigned from the One Nation party, leaving Pauline Hanson with just three Senators. The Senator is currently facing two legal cases which could render him ineligible as a parliamentarian - including one in the High Court which is awaiting judgement. Senator Culleton accused Senator Hanson and her chief of staff James Ashby of attempting to force him to resign and of trying to wrestle control of his office. "The PHON leader's public rants against me have also been accompanied by demands for my resignation and control over diaries, office management and staffing by Senator Hanson and her Chief of Staff, James Ashby. The irrational dictates have caused only disunity and distrust," Senator Culleton said in a statement. The move is not unexpected as he...

  Economists brace for trade wars, upheaval under Trump presidency Australian Financial Review Nov 9 2016 6:32 PM Jacob Greber   A Trump presidency – whether it delivers his economic plan or not – could open the door to the greatest upheaval in global economic policymaking in decades. From the potential return of direct executive interference in the way monetary policy is run in the world's largest economy and Reagan-era "supply side economics on steroids" to big budget deficits and trade wars with China, the changes could be tumultuous. As financial markets struggle to digest the cost of a Trump victory, many economists believe it will mark a fundamental turning point in the way the global economy is run. "This turns everything upside down," said Australian National University economist and former Reserve Bank of Australia board member Warwick McKibbin. "The main thing is trade – it really matters what he does...

Malcolm Turnbull confirms federal government will create new banking tribunal       7 October 2016   Tom McIlroy   http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/malcolm-turnbull-confirms-federal-government-will-create-new-banking-tribunal-20161006-grwvu5.html       The federal government will establish a new low-cost tribunal for victims of poor practices by Australia's biggest banks, in Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's sixth attempt to stave off Labor's calls for a royal commission.   After the heads of Australia's big four banks faced three days of hearings before a committee in Canberra this week, Mr Turnbull said the government was taking action on the tribunal plan, first proposed by a group of Coalition backbenchers amid Labor's popular push for a powerful and potentially damaging royal commission.    "It's a proposal that we are working towards," Mr Turnbull told 5AA radio on Friday.    "We have Professor Ian Ramsay conducting a review of a number of bodies, ombudsmen-type, tribunal-type bodies that deal with claims in the financial services sector, with banking, with insurance, with...

ATO, ASIC raids target properties linked to phoenix advice firms The Australian 12:00am August 12, 2016 Anthony Klan   The tax office and corporate regulator have raided more than a dozen properties in connection with two “pre-insolvency” advice firms as part of a crackdown on spruikers of illegal tax avoidance methods. About 120 Australian Taxation Office and Australian ¬Securities & Investments Commission officers raided 13 businesses and homes in suburban Melbourne and the Gold Coast yesterday. The ATO is targeting businesses alleged to be spruiking “phoenix” advice to clients. Phoenixing is the process whereby a company, often ¬operated by tradesmen and property developers, closes its business citing insolvency to avoid paying debts, only to resume trading under a different name. ATO deputy commissioner Michael Cranston said his office had received complaints about the practice from “legitimate ¬insolvency practitioners” and members of the tax profession. “These visits are part of an ¬ongoing...