Morning Briefing: Owners of non major bank show faith in growth plan

A non major bank has won support from its owners for an additional $110 million in equity capital... Global stocks fall as China moves unnerve markets...

Owners of non major bank show faith in growth plan
ME Bank has won support from its owners for an additional $110 million in equity capital, according to an article in the Australian Financial Review.

Chief executive Jamie McPhee plans to use the extra equity capital to grow mortgage lending several times faster than the growth in the financial system.

In the latest financial year ME Bank had return on equity of 7.4 per cent and a cost-to-income ratio of 67 per cent  

The average return on equity of other banks was about 14 per cent and the average cost-to-income ratio about 50 per cent.

McPhee says the financial performance is on an upward trajectory and aims to lift the return on equity to 10 per cent by 2017 and that the bank's online banking strategy should bring the cost-to-income ratio down to 50 per cent.

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Global stocks fall as China moves unnerve markets
(Bloomberg) -- Stocks fell around the world, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping almost 250 points, while bonds gained with the dollar on haven demand as China’s unexpected weakening of its currency once again raised fresh concern about the strength of the global economy.

U.S. stocks headed for a three-month low, with benchmark indexes showing little reaction to Federal Reserve meeting minutes that indicated some officials saw the decision to raise rates as a “close call.” Emerging-market equities fell to the cheapest since 2009. Brent crude plunged to its lowest level since 2004, as oil supplies at a U.S. hub rose to a record. Developing-nation currencies sank to an all-time low, after North Korea’s claim of a nuclear test added to geopolitical risks already heightened by Middle East tensions. The yen strengthened and Treasuries rose for a fifth session.

“This is risk aversion right now,” Benjamin Dunn, president of Alpha Theory Advisors, which works with hedge funds overseeing about $6 billion. “This is like a replay of the same things that moved the markets in August. We’re perhaps getting confirmation that China is as bad as people think. We’ve lost the tailwinds from the Fed and investor enthusiasm and this adds to the mosaic of fear that’s out there right now.” 

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