Archived News for Finance Sector Professionals

Bank of America Merrill Lynch and the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) have helped Australian businesses protect their export contract payments by signing a Master Documentary Credit Guarantee Facility.

Andrea Govaert, EFIC’s Executive Director, SME and Mid-Market, explains that to ensure they receive payments on contracts with overseas buyers, exporters undergo a process of confirming the documentary credit which results in the exporters’ bank takes the risk of the buyer’s bank paying on time.

“Companies exporting to developing markets may sometimes find that their banks are unable to take all of the risk on the overseas buyer’s bank for payments,” said Ms Govaert. “Even if the exporter’s bank has a relationship with the buyer’s bank, they may have limited credit capacity and have reached their limits. This leaves the exporter facing the risk of having to rely on the buyer’s bank for their payment without the support of their local Australian bank.”

ATO reunites fund members with lost super

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has developed an electronic form to make it easier to connect account holders with 5.8 million lost super accounts worth more than $18.8 billion.

Federal Government releases Tax Forum papers

The Federal Government has released two discussion papers in the lead up to the October Tax Forum.

SA keeps AAA rating

The South Australian State Government has welcomed the decision by rating agency Standard & Poor to maintain the state’s AAA credit rating.

ABS to update the CPI basket

The September quarter 2011 issue of the Australian Consumer Price Index to be released 26 October 2011, will incorporate several key recommendations from the Outcome of the 16th Series Australian Consumer Price Index Review by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The changes are described in an information paper: Introduction of the 16th Series Australian Consumer Price Index released today by the Bureau.

The main outcome will be to update the household expenditure weights applied to the different goods and services in the CPI basket to reflect current patterns of household expenditure. A comparison between the previous household expenditure weights (June quarter 2005) and the new household expenditure weights (June quarter 2011) is included in Appendix 3 of the release. For example, household expenditure is now relatively higher on restaurant meals and lower on beef and veal.

Previously published headline CPI (All groups CPI) will not be revised as a result of the changes. The All groups CPI for the June quarter 2011 was 0.9% for the quarter, and 3.6% through the year.

The CPI has been reviewed 16 times since its introduction in 1960; these reviews make sure that the CPI basket remains relevant to Australian purchasing patterns.

The information paper presents the new CPI expenditure weights which will be used from the September quarter 2011, details the methods used in deriving the weights and highlights major shifts in weights.

The ABS produces, together with the quarterly headline CPI, a suite of related indexes that help users understand the pattern of inflationary pressures in the Australian economy. The information paper describes the composition of these series. Following the recommendation of the 2010 Review, the ABS has decided to remove the indirect charges for deposit and loan facilities from the headline CPI pending improvements to the methodology and underlying data sources. In the meantime a new analytical series will be produced - the All groups CPI including Deposit and loans (indirect charges).

The information paper also provides a mock–up of the revised format of the September quarter 2011 publication and downloadable spreadsheets to enable users to become familiar with them before the release date.

Treasurer announces G20 and IMF meetings

Federal Treasuer Wayne Swan has met with G20 Finance Ministers in Washington DC before attending annual IMF and World Bank meetings.

Guarantee to build access to working capital

HSBC Bank Australia and Export Finance and Insurance Corporation (EFIC) have announced the signing of a new Master Working capital Guarantee Facility with an aim to assist Australian exporters in gaining access to additional working capital to finance export contracts.

Westpac appoints Ann Pickard to board

Westpac has announced that Ann Pickard will take a senior independent non-executive Director at the company’s board. Ms Pickard’s appointment will take effect from the beginning of December.

New appointments at Suncorp

Sean Carroll has officially been appointed as executive general manager of Suncorp Life Risk Australia after settling into the role for five months.

Swan recognised as finance minister of the year

Euromoney has named Treasurer Wayne Swan finance minister of the year due to his strict handling of the economy through and beyond the financial crisis, becoming the second Australian to have ever won the prestigious award.

Treasury announces superannuation law amendments

The Federal Government has revealed amendments to superannuation laws which are set to provide people with low cost, commission-free funds under the MySuper schemes.

Federal Government releases carbon tax update

The Federal Government has released an updated model of the impact of the carbon price which states the Australian economy will continue to grow strongly at the same time making reductions in carbon emissions.

IMF praises Australia's position

The IMF’s September World Economic Outlook (WEO) expects Australia to grow faster than all major advanced economies next year with an expected growth of 3.3 per cent. Predicted growth for advanced economies as a whole is 1.9 per cent in 2012 due to increased global instability.