A survey found the majority of economists don’t believe tracker mortgages would benefit the consumer... ANZ's DBS deal marks latest retreat from Asia wealth management...
1 in 3 experts believe tracker mortgages useful for borrowers
Following ASIC’s recent call for Aussie banks to introduce tracker mortgages, an analysis by finder.com.au found that the majority of economists don’t believe tracker mortgages would benefit the consumer, while 35% believe they could be useful.
Although tracker mortgages are available in the UK and Ireland, finder.com.au insights manager Graham Cooke says it’s unlikely that they will have a place in the Australian market.
“Tracker mortgages are a type of variable rate mortgage that follows or ‘tracks’ a base rate, such as the RBA rate, and similar to a variable rate product, borrowers can benefit from lower repayments when interest rates fall.
“As they are tied to a central bank rate, they offer more predictable interest rates to consumers, so if there’s a rate change, borrowers don’t need to wait around to see when and if their lender will pass on a rate discount.
“However, banks may struggle to make a profit on these types of products, so it’s unlikely that they’ll be offered widely within Australia,” he says.
In contrast, another finder.com.au survey found 30% of Australians were interested in a tracker mortgage if they were offered locally and Auswide Bank recently introduced its RBA Rate Tracker Home Loan which is now available to borrowers.
ANZ's DBS deal marks latest retreat from Asia wealth management
(Bloomberg) -- Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.’s sale of businesses in five Asian markets to DBS Group Holdings Ltd. offers the latest sign of consolidation in the region’s highly competitive wealth industry, which has already seen a retreat by European players like Barclays Plc and Societe Generale SA.
DBS will pay S$110 million ($79 million) for retail and wealth-management businesses that ANZ operates in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Indonesia. The deal will add S$23 billion of wealth assets to DBS’s books, taking its total assets under management to S$182 billion, it said in a stock-exchange filing.
ANZ said it will take a A$265 million ($201 million) loss on the deal, which marks a major step in Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott’s drive to unwind his predecessor’s expansion into Asia. The bank had previously been seeking to earn as much as 30 percent of profit from outside Australia and New Zealand by 2017.
“Our strategic priority is to create a simpler, better capitalized, better balanced bank focused on attractive areas where we can carve out winning positions,” Elliott said in a statement to the stock exchange. ANZ will focus its resources in Asia on institutional banking, he said.
The Melbourne-based lender is still reviewing its businesses in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines, Elliott said on a call with investors.
Following ASIC’s recent call for Aussie banks to introduce tracker mortgages, an analysis by finder.com.au found that the majority of economists don’t believe tracker mortgages would benefit the consumer, while 35% believe they could be useful.
Although tracker mortgages are available in the UK and Ireland, finder.com.au insights manager Graham Cooke says it’s unlikely that they will have a place in the Australian market.
“Tracker mortgages are a type of variable rate mortgage that follows or ‘tracks’ a base rate, such as the RBA rate, and similar to a variable rate product, borrowers can benefit from lower repayments when interest rates fall.
“As they are tied to a central bank rate, they offer more predictable interest rates to consumers, so if there’s a rate change, borrowers don’t need to wait around to see when and if their lender will pass on a rate discount.
“However, banks may struggle to make a profit on these types of products, so it’s unlikely that they’ll be offered widely within Australia,” he says.
In contrast, another finder.com.au survey found 30% of Australians were interested in a tracker mortgage if they were offered locally and Auswide Bank recently introduced its RBA Rate Tracker Home Loan which is now available to borrowers.
ANZ's DBS deal marks latest retreat from Asia wealth management
(Bloomberg) -- Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd.’s sale of businesses in five Asian markets to DBS Group Holdings Ltd. offers the latest sign of consolidation in the region’s highly competitive wealth industry, which has already seen a retreat by European players like Barclays Plc and Societe Generale SA.
DBS will pay S$110 million ($79 million) for retail and wealth-management businesses that ANZ operates in Singapore, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Indonesia. The deal will add S$23 billion of wealth assets to DBS’s books, taking its total assets under management to S$182 billion, it said in a stock-exchange filing.
ANZ said it will take a A$265 million ($201 million) loss on the deal, which marks a major step in Chief Executive Officer Shayne Elliott’s drive to unwind his predecessor’s expansion into Asia. The bank had previously been seeking to earn as much as 30 percent of profit from outside Australia and New Zealand by 2017.
“Our strategic priority is to create a simpler, better capitalized, better balanced bank focused on attractive areas where we can carve out winning positions,” Elliott said in a statement to the stock exchange. ANZ will focus its resources in Asia on institutional banking, he said.
The Melbourne-based lender is still reviewing its businesses in Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and the Philippines, Elliott said on a call with investors.
