Category: Banking and Finance

Source: ANZ statements

Consumer confidence fell 1.9pts last week. The four-week moving average was up 0.2pts.

‘Weekly inflation expectations’ fell 0.1ppt to 5.1%, and the four-week moving average was also down from 5.2% to 5.1%.

‘Current financial conditions’ fell 4.4pts, while ‘future financial conditions’ rose slightly by 0.1pts.

‘Short term economic confidence’ (about the economic outlook over the next 12 months) was up a touch by 0.5pts.

‘Medium term economic confidence’ (about the economic outlook over the next five years) decreased 2.7pts, which is its third straight weekly decline.

The ‘time to buy a major household item’ subindex declined 3.0pts.

Source: ANZ statements

Mr Gibb has been Chief Executive of Credit Suisse Australia since 2019, a role which he will step down from with effect from 31 January 2024.

Mr Gibb has had a long and distinguished career in the banking industry globally, including holding senior roles at Deutsche Bank from 2010 – 2019 (including as Co-Head of Corporate Finance, Asia Pacific in Hong Kong, Global Co-Head Financial Institutions Group in New York and Co-Chief Operating Officer, Global Corporate & Institutional Bank in London) and at Merrill Lynch & Co from 1997 – 2009 (including as Head of Financial Institutions and Financial Sponsors Groups, Asia Pacific in Hong Kong).

Commenting on the appointment Mr O’Sullivan said: “Richard’s extensive global banking experience will further strengthen the banking experience on the Boards and we look forward to his contribution.”

Source: ANZ statements

ANZBGL has appointed ANZ Securities, Bell Potter, CBA, E&P Corporate Advisory, Morgan Stanley, Morgans, National Australia Bank, Ord Minnett, Shaw and Partners, UBS AG, Australia Branch and Westpac Institutional Bank (a division of Westpac Banking Corporation) as Joint Lead Managers and LGT Crestone Wealth Management as Co-Manager (together the Syndicate Brokers) to help consider the offer.

Launch of the offer remains subject to the receipt of various regulatory and Board approvals and prevailing economic conditions and there is no guarantee it will proceed.

Restrictions on distribution

In response to the implementation of the Design and Distribution Obligations legislation in October 2021, any ANZ Capital Notes offer (including any reinvestment offer) will be limited to wholesale investors and investors receiving personal advice, who apply through a Syndicate Broker.

ANZ Capital Notes offers will not include a securityholder offer which would enable existing ANZ securityholders to apply directly for the notes.

Investors interested in participating in any future ANZ Capital Notes offer (including existing ANZ securityholders through any reinvestment offer) should consider the target market determination for the notes and should speak to a Syndicate Broker or a financial adviser associated with a Syndicate Broker. However, not all financial advisers will have access to a new offer of ANZ Capital Notes. The contact details for the Syndicate Brokers are provided below.

These restrictions on distribution for future ANZ Capital Notes offers are consistent with the approach taken by ANZBGL for the issue of ANZ Capital Notes 8 in March 2023.

The Australian Government’s MoneySmart website contains details on choosing a financial adviser at moneysmart.gov.au/financial-advice/choosing-a-financial-adviser.

Any future ANZ Capital Notes offer will be made under a prospectus and any person wishing to apply will need to do so via an application form in or accompanying that prospectus.

Syndicate Broker contact details

 

Joint Lead Manager	Wholesale Investors	Investors seeking personal advice
ANZ Securities	Tariq Holdich: 02 8037 0310	Not available to retail investors
Bell Potter	Tim Griffin: 02 8224 2841	Shaun Argent: 03 9235 1744
Commonwealth Bank of Australia	Mitchell Walls: 1300 887 733	Not available to retail investors
E&P Corporate Advisory	Andrew Serle: 03 9411 4076	Andrew Serle: 03 9411 4076
Morgan Stanley	Jaimee Honter: 13 13 70	Jaimee Honter: 13 13 70
Morgans	Callum Lanskey: 07 3334 4831	Callum Lanskey: 07 3334 4831
National Australia Bank	Stefan Visser: 02 7226 8389	Not available to retail investors
Ord Minnett	Tom Morris: 02 8216 6331	Tom Morris: 02 8216 6331
Shaw and Partners	Steve Anagnos: 02 9238 1513	Fiona Burton: 02 9238 1571
UBS AG, Australia Branch	Jared Barr: 02 8121 5917	Not available to retail investors
Westpac Institutional Bank	Tyler O’Brien: 02 8253 4574	Not available to retail investors

Co- Manager	Wholesale Investors	Investors seeking personal advice
LGT Crestone Wealth Management	James Williams: 02 8422 5500	Not available to retail investors

Source: ANZ statements

Consumer confidence remained unchanged. The four-week moving average was up 0.9pts.

Among the mainland states, confidence rose in SA and WA, was stable in Victoria and fell in NSW and Queensland.

‘Weekly inflation expectations’ were up 0.2ppt to 5.2%, and the four-week moving average rose from 5.1% to5.2%.

Two of the five subindices increased. ‘Current financial conditions’ rose 3.2pts. ‘Future financial conditions’ fell 0.9pts but remained above the neutral 100 level.

‘Current economic conditions’ declined 2.0pts and ‘future economic conditions’ were down 0.9pts.

The ‘time to buy a major household item’ subindex rose 0.7pts.

Source: ANZ statements

In particular, when using a milestone event such as a new year, a birthday, or a holiday, people are nearly 1.5 times more likely to commit to a new goal[1] because these moments feel more meaningful and impactful.

Unfortunately, most resolutions often fail to last past March. However, there are four proven and helpful strategies you can use to increase your chances of forming good financial habits.

1. Break down your goals into smaller goals – Celebrating smaller accomplishments more frequently increases your motivation and makes a goal feel more achievable.
2. Regularly monitor your progress towards your goal – Periodically checking in on your progress towards a goal almost doubles your chances of achieving your objectives.
3. Restrict your ability to deviate from your goal – Wherever possible, make acting on your goal effortless or automated.  For example, tools like Round Ups or scheduled transfer on pay day allow a ‘hands off’ approach to saving, putting money aside before it can be spent elsewhere.
4. Share your goals with friends, peers, or family – The positive influence of peers has shown to increase accountability and motivation to stay on track.

ANZ Head of Financial Wellbeing, Research and Design Mohamed Khalil said: “Setting goals is an important step in creating lifelong financial wellbeing habits.  Once formed, they require less conscious effort, making saving, paying down debt or managing your money an easier part of your day to day. Using a milestone event to set financial resolutions is a great way to get on track for 2024.”

“We’re constantly looking at new ways to help our customers to achieve their financial goals and have built in many of these global insights into ANZ Plus.  The new Round Ups tool, unlimited savings buckets, and predicted expenses are just a few tools customers can use in the app to make achieving their savings goals easier.”

ANZ Plus Round Ups help people to save small amounts each time they spend by rounding up eligible card purchases and transferring the extra amount to an ANZ Save account.

In 2023, ANZ and ANZ Plus customers set over half a million savings goals in the app, with the most popular being travel, followed by a house or car, and then rainy-day expenses.

Visit ANZ Financial Wellbeing Guides and Tools for more information.

Source: ANZ statements

Consumer confidence fell by 0.4 points last week, but the four-week moving average rose 2.0 points.

Among the mainland states, confidence rose in South Australia and Western Australia but fell in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

The four-week average of confidence moved up for all the mainland states.

‘Weekly inflation expectations’ slipped 0.2 percentage points to 5.0 per cent, while the four-week moving average dropped from 5.3 per cent to 5.1 per cent.

Three of the five subindices increased. ‘Current financial conditions’ increased 2.6 points while ‘future financial conditions’ rose 1.4 points.

‘Current economic conditions’ lifted 0.8 points. ‘Future economic conditions’ dropped 3.6 points after a jump of 4.9 points in the previous week.

The ‘time to buy a major household item’ subindex fell 3.0 points after an increase of 8.7 points in the previous week.

Source: ANZ statements

ANZ Senior Economist, Catherine Birch said: “ANZ-Indeed Job Ads rose a marginal 0.1% m/m (seasonally adjusted) in December, after a cumulative drop of 8.9% between August and November. In original terms, there was a 10.0% m/m fall, reflecting the seasonal drop off in recruiting going into the holiday break.

“ABS job vacancies only declined 0.7% q/q in November, adding to the evidence that while the labour market is easing, there are no signs of a sharp deterioration approaching. Vacancies per unemployed person declined to 0.68, a two-year low, but this is still double the pre-COVID level. We see the unemployment rate lifting only modestly in 2024.”

Indeed Senior Economist, Callam Pickering, said: “In 2023, ANZ-Indeed Job Ads fell by 14.9%. Around 80% of this decline was driven by New South Wales and Victoria, with both states experiencing a much larger decline in Job Ads than other states and territories.

“The annual decline was relatively broad-based across occupations, with Job Ads down across 70% of occupational categories. The biggest subtractions came from food preparation & service, software development and personal care, which more than offset sizable gains in therapy and education Job Ads. Nevertheless, Job Ads in 80% of occupational categories are still above pre-pandemic levels.”

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Source: ANZ statements

It’s always important to remain vigilant to scammers, but the beginning of a new year presents the perfect opportunity to update and defend personal details by switching to tough-to-crack passphrases and activating two-factor authentication to thwart the efforts of opportunistic cybercriminals.

Phishing and recruitment scams are two common tactics used by scammers to target victims, particularly jobseekers in the early months of the year. They will send too-good-to-be-true job offers through email, texts, and social media, containing links and job listings that look legitimate. Through these links, scammers can gain access to personal information, passwords and account numbers.

ANZ Senior Manager, Fraud Analytics, Jess Bottega said: “We encourage everyone when looking for new jobs online to protect their personal information and to beware of any offer made through social media.”

“Young people and recent school leavers can be particularly vulnerable to recruitment scams, with the promise of making quick money the biggest lure.”

According to ScamWatch, Australians aged between 25 and 44 report the biggest losses to recruitment scams.

Ways to protect your personal information online:

 

• Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) – 2FA uses a second factor to double check your identity when logging into personal accounts such as banking, email or social media.
• Use passphrases over passwords – A passphrase is a sentence like string of words, making it longer and more complex than a traditional one-word password. Passphrases are easier for humans to remember, but harder for technology to crack.
• Turn on automatic updates – Regular updates are critical to maintaining the security of digital devices, and act as great ammunition against unauthorised access.

• Be social media savvy – Always keep your social media posts and privacy settings in check to guard your digital footprint. Seemingly benign details, like a workplace, photos with location details or a birthday can be a goldmine for scammers. With these details, cybercriminals can develop impersonation profiles and commit identity theft.

• Beware of unexpected messages – The best way to identify a scammer is to watch for unexpected or strange messages, particularly those demanding urgent action, containing links or requesting personal information.

• Keep email addresses private – Protect your email from spam and malicious emails by not sharing addresses online unless vital. As much as possible, have separate email accounts for personal and business use and set up accounts to filter and detect spam emails.

ANZ’s customer protection teams and systems operate 24/7. Customers who believe they may have been a victim of a scam should contact us immediately, on 13 33 50 or visit us at http://www.anz.com.au/security/report-fraud/ for more information.

For more information on the types of scams and how to protect yourself visit http://www.anz.com.au/security/types-of-scams.

 

About ANZ Scam Safe: To assist the community in remaining aware and alert to the constantly changing scams and fraud environment, ANZ has launched a new Scam Safe series.

Scam Safe will highlight the latest cyber security and fraud issues impacting the community and what ANZ is doing to help protect our customers.

Source: ANZ statements

Consumer confidence increased three points in the week to January 7th, hitting an 11-month high. The four-week moving average was up 2.1 points.

Among the mainland states, confidence rose in New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland but fell in South Australia and Western Australia.

‘Weekly inflation expectations’ dropped 0.1 percentage point to 5.2 per cent, while the four-week moving average was unchanged at 5.3 per cent.

Four of the five subindices increased. ‘Current financial conditions’ fell 1.6 points while ‘future financial conditions’ rose 0.7 points.

‘Current economic conditions’ lifted 2.1 points to its highest level since late May 2022. ‘Future economic conditions’ increased 4.9 points to its highest level since late January 2023.

The ‘time to buy a major household item’ subindex jumped 8.7 points to its highest level since the middle of January in 2023.