The banking royal commission has been full of horror stories. To some extent this is not surprising. Banks undertake millions of transactions per year so it is hardly surprising that there are some shockers in the mix. The Catholic Church and the Returned Services League have provided similar front page news stories over the last…
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Ah, springtime: when “for sale” signs start popping up with the daffodils and crocuses! Before you call your real estate agent, you might want to read up on some of the more technical aspects of homebuying—like exactly what homeownership can mean for your bottom line. Mortgage basics The majority of families that buy a home…
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The RBA has decided to keep interest rates at record low for the 25th consecutive month. It stated that it is not concerned by rising home loan rates. “Some lenders have increased mortgage rates by small amounts, although the average mortgage rate paid is lower than a year ago” The ASX cash rate futures market…
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Before I dive into where housing is heading, the banking regulator’s analysis of CBA’s vulnerabilities was spot on. In 2010 I posited that while the four oligarchs’ much-lauded diversification into non-core businesses might smooth their return distributions during the good times, it lifted the probability of adverse fat-tail events of the kind NAB experienced in…
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There have been some alarming revelations about the behaviour of Australia’s Banks coming out of the Banking Royal Commission. It has shattered the myth that the big banks always put their customers first. Time and again evidence has been put forward that shows that the lending practices of some of the banks have frankly betrayed…
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HEARINGS REVEAL MORE TALES OF RECKLESS LENDING BY BANKS – BUT ALSO SHOW THAT BORROWERS WILL TAKE HUGE RISKS TO MAKE THEIR DREAMS COME TRUE Westpac lawyers leave the Commonwealth law courts in Melbourne on Thursday, May 24, 2018. Westpac lawyers leave the Commonwealth law courts in Melbourne on Thursday, May 24, 2018. Photograph: Joe…
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Understanding the difference between the median sales price and the median value can provide you with useful insights into exactly what is going on in your local property market. The traditional metric is the median sales price. This is the median – or middle – price of all the properties that have sold in the…
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Westpac shares have slumped in midday trade after UBS downgraded the stock this morning. Analysts Jonathon Mott and Rachel Bentvelzen ascribed a target valuation of $26.05 on Westpac (WBC) shares — down from this morning’s opening price of $29.18. Westpac shares fell by more than 4% in afternoon trade before closing 3.79% lower: The pair…
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Charging dead people fees, impersonating clients, falsifying signatures. It’s all apparently in a day’s work for unscrupulous members of the $4.6 billion financial planning industry. For the best part of the past week, the Hayne royal commission explored the misdeeds of advisers employed by the big banks and AMP. The testimony was disturbing, and portrayed…
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Jason Hannagan had to sell his home and an investment property after a financial lender gave his family a loan they could not afford to repay. Mr Hannagan’s family took out a $590,750 loan from a lender called Pepper Money in 2012. He estimated the family’s monthly income was about $9,500 and their monthly expenses…
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