Bernie Fraser

Home lenders give hearty olé

01 May 2012 | Matthew Stevens

PRINT: 02 May 2012 | PAGE 1 | Home lenders give hearty olé

Lenders might have reason to thank Spain’s statistician for near-perfect timing of southern Europe’s biggest economy slipping back into recession.

Industry funds not union playthings

01 May 2012 | John Ingram

PRINT: 01 May 2012 | PAGE 2 | Industry funds not union playthings

The ideological view of industry funds as being ‘union-controlled’ is divorced from reality – but they do need more independent directors.

Fraser slams Labor on budget, calls for rate cut

01 May 2012 | Peter Kerr

PRINT: 01 May 2012 | PAGE 3 | Bernie Fraser slams Labor on budget

RBA governor Bernie Fraser says the government’s determination to balance the budget despite patchy growth is economically irrational, as he called for a 50 basis point rate cut.

Super funds’ bank pushed to restructure

10 April 2012 | Duncan Hughes

PRINT: 10 April 2012 | PAGE 1 | Super funds’ bank pressed to restructure

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority has pressured union-affiliated ME Bank into restructuring because of fears its complex cross-ownership structure posed major risks for shareholders and clients.

Labor’s great car industry betrayal

24 March 2012 | The Australian Financial Review

PRINT: 24 March 2012 | PAGE 62 | Labor’s great car industry betrayal

Editorial | The Gillard government’s plan to throw away $275 million on propping up GM Holden’s Australian operations is a betrayal of the Australian people.

Dollar not the key to Holden’s future

30 January 2012 | Mathew Dunckley

PRINT: 30 January 2012 | PAGE 45 | Dollar not the key to Holden’s future

South Australia’s Premier argues that manufacturing matters more than currency fluctuations.

Treasurer defends car handouts

28 January 2012 | Laura Tingle

PRINT: 28 January 2012 | PAGE 1 | Treasurer

Treasurer Wayne Swan is rejecting arguments that the government is using the high dollar as a scapegoat for car industry job losses and low productivity.

A good break makes for match fitness

27 January 2012 | Laura Tingle

PRINT: 27 January 2012 | PAGE 51 | A good break makes for match fitness

Official Canberra returns from holidays on Monday, but that’s not to say our politicians and bureaucrats haven’t been working.

Wall St dips as EU crisis percolates

25 January 2012 | Bianca hartge-Hazelman

Before the Bell | US stocks have dipped as talks to resolve Greece’s debt crisis falter and following some lacklustre earnings reports ■ FTSE down 0.5pc ■ S&P500 slips 0.1pc ■ SPI up 4pts ■ $A at $US1.048 ■ Broker Watch: GUD, NWS, BHP.

Dollar not to blame for car woes: Fraser

25 January 2012 | Gemma Daley

PRINT: 25 January 2012 | PAGE 1 | Dollar not to blame

Former Reserve Bank governor Bernie Fraser has undermined Labor’s argument that the car sector can recover once the dollar falls, warning that low productivity will kill the industry.

Call for shake-up of industry fund boards

05 January 2012 | Sally Patten

PRINT: 05 January 2012 | PAGE 3 | Shake-up urged for industry fund boards

Industry superannuation funds should replace union and employer group representatives on their boards with independent directors to shore up member confidence, the Australian Institute of Company Directors argues.

Super funds resist pressure to disclose executive pay

12 December 2011 | Sally Patten

PRINT: 12 December 2011 | PAGE 3 | Super funds resist push to reveal pay

Super funds are resisting pressure from the regulator to disclose executive salaries, which would bring retirement schemes into line with listed groups’ disclosure practices.

ME Bank branches out to the workplace

05 December 2011 | Sally Patten

PRINT: 05 December 2011 | PAGE 46 | ME Bank branches out to the workplace

ME Bank chief executive Jamie McPhee will discuss the lender’s credit rating with Standard & Poor’s early this week.

Citibank plans to be big switch hitter

12 October 2011 | John Kehoe

PRINT: 12 October 2011 | PAGE 49 | Citibank plans to be big switch hitter

Reform to make it easier for customers to switch bank accounts will help smaller institutions break the stranglehold of the big four banks, according to Citibank.

Swan puts check on RBA governors

15 September 2011 | Adrian Rollins

PRINT: 16 September 2011 | PAGE 1 | Swan puts check on RBA governors

The government has dragged the pay rate for future Reserve Bank governors into line with that of other senior public officials.

Banks to absorb account switching costs

22 August 2011 | Patrick Durkin

PRINT: 22 August 2011 | PAGE 5 | Banks to wear account switching costs

The cost of the government’s tick-and-flick service for switching bank accounts is expected to be absorbed by the banks.

Regulator aims to prevent carbon trading fraud

15 July 2011 | Paul Osborne

Carbon trading experts say there is potential for fraud in the global market, but checks and balances are improving.

Business ruled by the bold and bald

13 July 2011 | Alan Stokes

PRINT: 13 July 2011 | PAGE 64 | Business ruled by the bold and bald

Let’s cut to the bare facts. Baldness is the new power statement for business success.

Abuse feared in offset system

12 July 2011 | David Crowe

PRINT: 12 July 2011 | PAGE 15 | Abuse feared in offset system

The federal government could take years to devise its promised safeguards on the $3 billion trade in offshore carbon credits.

Two bodies to review carbon progress

11 July 2011 | Marcus Priest

PRINT: 11 July 2011 | PAGE 9 | Two bodies to review progress

The Productivity Commission will review industry assistance and a Climate Change Authority will be established to advise on emission reduction targets.

Gillard’s carbon blueprint

11 July 2011 | Marcus Priest

PRINT: 11 July 2011 | PAGE 8 | Gillard’s carbon blueprint

The federal government’s carbon scheme will take a $4 billion toll on the budget over the next four years as the government increases industry assistance to $10 billion.

Bernie Fraser to chair climate body

10 July 2011 |

Former Reserve Bank governor and Treasury head Bernie Fraser will chair a new body to advise the government on carbon pricing.

Fraser review to favour Dutch system

28 June 2011 | Matthew Drummond

PRINT: 28 June 2011 | PAGE 47 | Fraser review to favour Dutch system

Some 80,000 Dutch bank customers switch banks every year using a system which is likely to be introduced into Australia to boost competition in retail banking.

Banks may be forced to help customers switch

27 June 2011 | Matthew Drummond

PRINT: 27 June 2011 | PAGE 46 | Banks may be forced to help customers switch

Banks may be forced to build an interbank switching service to help customers move accounts from one lender to another.

Less-fuss bank accounts draw closer

21 June 2011 | Bianca Hartge-Hazelman

PRINT: 21 June 2011 | PAGE 45 | Less-fuss bank accounts draw closer

The consumer experience of switching bank accounts has been likened to being more of a paper-work headache than going through a divorce.

High $A puts pain in the frame

06 June 2011 | Joanna Heath

Today will mark the 100th day that the Australian dollar has closed above $US1 since it was floated almost three decades ago. A strong dollar has become the new norm.

Pain ahead from high dollar

06 June 2011 | Joanna Heath

PRINT: 06 June 2011 | PAGE 19 | Pain ahead from high dollar

Today will mark the 100th day that the Australian dollar has closed above $US1 since it was floated almost three decades ago. A strong dollar has become the new norm.

Poole a steady hand for AustralianSuper

03 June 2011 | Duncan Hughes

PRINT: 03 June 2011 | PAGE 50 | Poole a steady hand for AustralianSuper

AustralianSuper has announced Tim Poole’s promotion to the fund’s board and to head its investment committee.

National briefs

23 May 2011 |

PRINT: 23 May 2011 | PAGE 8 |

Australia and South Africa issued a joint statement calling on the International Monetary Fund to appoint its new leader on the basis of ability and not nationality.

Fraser fast-tracks super contributions

20 April 2011 |

PRINT: 20 April 2011 | PAGE 46 | Fraser fast-tracks super contributions

It can now be revealed exactly why superannuation guru Bernie Fraser is stepping down from his board roles at a couple of large industry funds.

Profits fall has a long way to go

08 March 2011 |

The latest national accounts show profits share of total income has been on a downward trend since the middle of last year.

RBA casts doubt on account portability

22 February 2011 | David Crowe

The Reserve Bank has warned of legal risks to any government move to force banks to let their customers transfer accounts, as Treasurer Wayne Swan considers acting on the issue after it is reviewed by former RBA governor Bernie Fraser.

Wages rising faster than productivity

14 February 2011 | Barry Hughes

PRINT: 14 February 2011 | PAGE 23 | Wages race ahead of productivity gains

Flagging nationwide productivity gains mean that the Reserve Bank of Australia needs to rethink its conventional wage gain benchmark.

Bernie Fraser to plead the fifth

07 January 2011 | Jane Searle

PRINT: 07 January 2011 | PAGE 41 | Fifth pillar fate unclear: Fraser

Former Reserve Bank governor Bernie Fraser says it is unclear whether Treasurer Wayne Swan’s mooted fifth pillar of banking – credit unions and building societies – will be the winner from government reforms to boost competition by increasing the ease of account portability.

Team up to take on big four

20 December 2010 | George Liondis

PRINT: 20 December 2010 | PAGE 36 | Team up to take on big four

The success of the rediATM network shows how collaboration between smaller players in the financial sector can create a national fifth force in banking.

Don’t give big banks first bite of the bond cherry

15 December 2010 | Sam Wylie

PRINT: 15 December 2010 | PAGE 55 | Don’t give big banks first bite of the bond cherry

Two cheers for Treasurer Wayne Swan’s measures for increasing competition in Australian banking. One cheer for focusing on reducing switching costs. Another cheer for making deposit insurance permanent. A third cheer for not rushing into guarantees of securitisation bonds.

Good first step but more to do

13 December 2010 | Stephen Shore

PRINT: 13 December 2010 | PAGE 11 | Good first step but more to do

Consumer groups welcomed the Government’s banking reforms yesterday saying the initiatives were an “enormously important step” in tipping the balance of power back towards the consumer.

Bank reforms ban exit fees, empower watchdog

12 December 2010 | Marcus Priest

The Federal Government will ban exit fees on new homes loans from July 2011, allow banks to issue covered bonds and give the competition watchdog more power to crack down on so-called “price signalling” as part of a plan to increase banking competition.

ASX readies political case for merger

03 December 2010 | George Liondis

PRINT: 03 December 2010 | PAGE 54 |

ASX Ltd is completing a report laying out its case that a proposed takeover by Singapore Exchange would be in the national interest.

Wayne didn’t even blanch

16 July 2010 |

PRINT: 16 July 2010 | PAGE 38 | Wayne didn’t even blanch

Wayne Swan is not known for his one-liners. But when put on the spot at a Whitlam Institute lunch in Sydney yesterday, he came up with an admirable effort.

Super gravy train rolls on and on

10 July 2010 |

PRINT: 10 July 2010 | PAGE 31 | Cooper review or not, the super gravy train rolls on and on

The nation’s billion-dollar industry fund sector would still be dominated by the same handful of powerbrokers even if the government agreed to proposals to allow outsiders on to super fund boards.

Resources row escalates as PM, Forrest trade blows

07 May 2010 | Louise Dodson

PRINT: 07 May 2010 | PAGE 1 | Resources row escalates as PM, Forrest trade blows

The resource profits tax row has escalated, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd accusing companies of “crying wolf” over its impact and one of Australia’s richest men, Andrew Forrest, saying the government wants to nationalise the minerals industry.

Miners ‘crying wolf’ - Rudd

06 May 2010 |

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd says threats are standard from mining companies, which are accused of "crying wolf" with claims a planned resources tax puts their projects in peril.

Former RBA governor backs mining tax

06 May 2010 |

A former Reserve Bank governor has thrown his support behind the federal government's planned new tax on mining profits.

ME Bank goes for value

29 March 2010 | Tony Boyd

PRINT: 29 March 2010 | PAGE 44 | ME Bank goes for value

When the government guarantee on wholesale funding was available Members Equity Bank grabbed the opportunity with alacrity and raised $1 billion in two medium term note issues of $500 million each.