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The sale of Challenge Bank to Westpac in late-1995 ended the independence of an institution whose WA roots dated back to 1862. 

opinion
opinion
BankingCommentsPremium
opinion
The price we pay for cheaper banking services

With P&N closing in on a merger that would see it absorbed by Melbourne-based mutual Bank Australia, WA is poised to lose its last homegrown and locally owned bank.

Sean Smith

CBA’s record sell-off has raised a bigger question for investors: if Australia’s largest stocks start to wobble, how much strain Australia’s top stocks take?

MarketsCommentsPremiumWhat CBA’s stock plunge means to your shares

CBA’s record sell-off has raised a bigger question for investors: if Australia’s largest stocks start to wobble, how much strain Australia’s top stocks take?

Ryan Johnson

VanEck tips the banks will no longer drive growth on the Australian sharemarket.

FINANCE‘Regime shift’: Warning after CBA bloodbath

After 14 million people’s superannuation took a hit this week, asset managers warn of a “regime change” on the Australian share market.

Blair Jackson

The amount of unclaimed money held by the Australian financial regulator has hit $2.7bn. NewsWire / Nicholas Eagar

UPDATEDPremiumHow to claim share of forgotten billions

Aussies have left behind nearly $3bn in forgotten funds, but many remain unaware they could be entitled to payouts from their past.

Blair Jackson

P&N chief executive Andrew Hadley.

The West Australian exclusive
The West Australian exclusive
BankingCommentsPremium
The West Australian exclusive
P&N has third go at merger with plans for $30b tie-up

The combined national group would be run from Melbourne by P&N chief executive Andrew Hadley, have more than 530,000 customers, 1500 employees and $30 billion in assets.

Sean Smith

Commonwealth Bank’s share price tumble on Wednesday signals a rough year ahead for shares.

analysis
analysis
BankingVideoCommentsPremium
analysis
CBA has worst day on record as CGT fears grow post-Budget

Professional investors suggest growth shares will struggle to find buyers as capital gains could be taxed at more than 40 per cent under Labor’s Budget.

Tom Richardson

Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn

BankingPremiumRecord $30b ASX fall for country’s biggest bank

A disappointing trading update and concerns about the fallout from the Federal Budget have sent Commonwealth Bank of Australia plunging to a $30 billion ASX wipeout.

Sean Smith

Chalmers, inflation The Nightly

EconomyVideoCommentsPremiumCommonwealth Bank slams Budget over failed inflation fight

Economists from Australia’s biggest bank said interest rates could rise following the Budget, which will spend an extra $6.5 billion.

Aaron Patrick

The Australian sharemarket is set to open down again on Thursday. Gaye Gerard / NewsWire

UPDATEDPremiumBad signs for ASX after CBA carnage

After investors dumped Commonwealth Bank shares on Wednesday, the Australian sharemarket is pointing towards losses again on Thursday.

Blair Jackson and Cameron Micallef

The Commonwealth Bank's operating income was flat in the three months to March 31. (Joel Carrett/AAP PHOTOS)

BusinessCommentsPremiumCommonwealth Bank’s profit dips to $2.7b

The Commonwealth Bank's expenses ticked up in the March quarter as it spent more on cloud computing, software licensing and investments in AI.

Derek Rose

Shemara Wikramanayake and Simon Wright.

BankingPremiumBumper pay entrenches Macquarie’s millionaire reputation

Regulatory missteps prevent CEO Shemara Wikramanayake from taking full advantage of bumper profits at the investment bank, and despite taking home more than $26m, another executive out-earned her.

Sean Smith

The issue is not always how quickly banks move, but where they put the increase. 

Your MoneyCommentsPremiumSavers are being left behind by their bank after rate hikes

Borrowers have been slugged with higher mortgage rates after the Reserve Bank’s May hike, but many savers will miss out unless they meet the fine print on bonus accounts.

Ryan Johnson

Australian dollar surged against the greenback. supplied

MONEYPremium‘Outlier’ behind Aussie dollar’s 4-year high

The surprising reason for the Australian dollar being propelled to a four-year high has been revealed.

Cameron Micallef

Here’s the rub for the RBA: How do you get people to stop spending when your reward cashed-up baby boomers while slugging young families with a mortgage?

opinion
opinion
Your MoneyCommentsPremium
opinion
Rate pain will continue while baby boomers keep spending

Here’s the rub for the RBA: How do you get people to stop spending when you reward cashed-up baby boomers while slugging young families with a mortgage?

Daniel Newell

A composite image of signage of Australia's 'big four' banks ANZ, Westpac, the Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and the National Australia Bank (NAB) signage in Sydney, Saturday, May 5, 2018. (AAP Image/Joel Carrett) NO ARCHIVING

BankingPremiumBig banks turn backs on brokers in favour of themselves

Australia’s biggest banks are ramping up efforts to write more mortgages directly as they battle brokers for control of the home loan customer.

Ryan Johnson

Australia's Big Four banks have passed on the hike in full.

BankingCommentsPremiumBig Four banks pass on RBA’s rate hike

Commonwealth Bank has become the first of the Big Four to lift interest rates following the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision on Tuesday. It was closely followed by NAB, ANZ and Westpac.

Cheyanne Enciso

RBA governor Michele Bullock and Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

RBAVideoCommentsPain to persist, warns Bullock as RBA wipes out 2025 cuts

The Reserve Bank has raised interest rates by another 25 basis points to 4.35 per cent, undoing last year’s relief. Governor Michele Bullock hinted at more pain and cautioned against higher government spending.

Stephen Johnson

Australia's big four banks are all set to pass on the hike in full.

LIVE UPDATESCommentsRBA RECAP: How much more you’ll pay, and what to do now

The Middle East war has blown another hole in the budgets of millions of families already shell-shocked by two interest rate hikes this year. 

Daniel Newell

Australia’s biggest lenders are getting a boost from higher interest rates.

BankingCommentsPremiumWestpac’s $3.4b profit misses mark, CEO flags Mid East risks

Westpac’s first-half profit missed expectations as chief executive Anthony Miller flagged worries about the impact of the Middle East war on customers.

Richard Henderson

NAB chief executive Andrew Irvine is prioritising growth in the key business banking division.

BankingCommentsPremiumNAB’s $2.64b profit misses mark as credit provisions weigh

National Australia Bank missed first-half profit estimates as robust loan growth was offset by higher software costs and credit provisions as the economy deteriorates.

Richard Henderson

A rate rise in May would add even more pressure to borrowers who only recently started to feel relief from last year’s cuts.

Your MoneyCommentsPremiumVariable or fixed? How the numbers stack up if RBA hikes

For borrowers, the question is not simply whether rates will rise again, but if paying for certainty now is worth the risk of being locked in later.

Ryan Johnson

Mortgage offset accounts are a great tool to help people pay down their home loans faster. But as more and more people hit pension age before they pay off their home, how are they assessed by Centrelink?

Nick Bruining Q+ACommentsPremiumDoes money in my mortgage offset affect my age pension?

Q+A: Mortgage offset accounts are a great tool to help people pay down their home loans faster. But as more and more people hit pension age before they pay off their home, how are they assessed by Centrelink?

Nick Bruining

ANZ’s new cost-cutting chief executive Nuno Matos has boasted that simplifying its banking business is paying off with a much stronger half-year profit following mass retrenchments during a time of global uncertainty.

BankingCommentsPremiumBig four bank boasts profit boost after slashing 3500 jobs

ANZ’s new cost-cutting chief executive has boasted that simplifying its banking business is paying off with a much stronger half-year profit following mass retrenchments during a time of global uncertainty.

Stephen Johnson

Conflict in the Middle East is creating economic uncertainty for customers, ANZ says. (James Ross/AAP PHOTOS)

BankingPremiumBig four bank says customers have savings buffers

One of the nation's big four banks has lifted its interim earnings while warning that the impact on customers from the Middle East conflict is still to be felt.

Kaaren Morrissey