Bell Financial Group has managed a $125 million block trade in investment company Washington H. Soul Pattinson, sources told Street Talk. 

The broker is understood to have executed a line of about 8 million shares at $15.60 apiece. The trade reflected a sale and purchase between two institutional investors.

Washington H. Soul Pattinson's stock closed at $15.89 on Friday.

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UBS has been hired to step into the market for CSR and repurchase up to 10 per cent of its shares on issue. 

CSR announced the $150 million buyback on Friday morning to make the most of its strong balance sheet and operating cash flows. 

UBS's equities desk will run the on-market buyback which will begin on March 21.

Citi analysts told clients the buyback came as CSR was trading at a discount to its long-term average price. The analysts said CSR was trading at 9.4-times 12-month forward earnings, below its long-run average of 13.4-times. 

CSR isn't the only company buying up its own stock in the secondary market. 

Downer EDI is part-way through its program with the help of UBS, while iSelect has Bell Potter in the market and Citi is working for CSL. 

Other on-market buybacks underway include Navitas (through Morgan Stanley), CIMIC Group (Bank of America Merrill Lynch), Aurizon (UBS), Ansell (UBS) and Nine Entertainment Co (UBS). 

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National Australia Bank is set to raise interest rates for the one group of borrowers that have so far copped less interest rate pain than most. 

Street Talk can reveal that as part of a new tiered home loan pricing structure, NAB will lift rates by 0.15 of a percentage point for property investors who are paying off principal, as well as interest. 

The rate rise will come into effect on April 4 and be announced to mortgage brokers on Friday, sources said. 

The move comes as NAB rolls out a sweeping new mortgage pricing structure that means the bank has more levers to pull when it's changing mortgage rates. 

Under the new model, NAB will divide its home loan products into four distinct categories. Loans will be grouped by both borrower type (owner-occupier or investor) and loan structure (interest-only or principal and interest). It will mark the most differential pricing strategy among the Big Four in the home loan market, but it remains to be seen how it will received. 

It contrasts with the "two-tier" mortgage market, where investors are generally charged higher rates than owner-occupiers.

The change should give NAB extra flexibility to target one specific segment of the market with higher or lower rates.

Until now, NAB has been different to rivals because it last year lifted rates on interest-only loans, rather than targeting all housing investors. 

That meant there was a minority of property investors at NAB who were spared the industry-wide crackdown on landlord borrowers. 

Now, these customers will be asked to pay a bit more.

However, the hike is still smaller than NAB's 0.29 percentage point rate rise for all of its interest-only customers of last July, a move that was aimed property investors who favour interest-only loans for the higher tax deductions.

Elsewhere in financial services, SocietyOne, is set to announce a new chief executive.

The new boss' mission: to lift awareness about the alternative for personal loans and drive loan volume growth on the platform - and help set up a healthy exit for its demanding investor list. 

The new recruit, who Street Talk understands hails from financial services, could be announced as early as Friday. Current CEO and co-founder Matt Symons will stay on as a member its senior leadership team, along with fellow co-founder Greg Symons (they are no relation). 

SocietyOne has been laden with expectations. Shareholders include media moguls James Packer and Ryan Stokes, News Corp, Westpac Banking Corp's venture capital fund Reinventure Group, Kerry Stokes' Australian Capital Equity, Berlin-based Rocket Internet and the former local head of KKR Justin Reizes. It is also chaired by former Pacific Equity Partners' dealmaker Anthony Kerwick.

Challenger and its former chief Dominic Stevens have also been working with SocietyOne, along with UBS Australia boss Matthew Grounds -- heightening speculation a float will be part of the new boss's playbook.

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Fairfax Media chief executive Greg Hywood has dismissed reports that the company has any interest in buying a stake in Nine Entertainment Co., or has appointed investment bank Credit Suisse to help it prepare a corporate raid.

A media report today has linked Fairfax to a purchase of 3.4 per cent of Nine's shares on Thursday evening, speculating it may be a first step to a possible tie-up between the two media companies or intended as a blocking stake to protect the publisher's investment in Stan, the video streaming service it owns with Nine.

Deutsche Bank executed the trade on behalf of a buyer which saw about 33 million shares change hands at $1.60 apiece.

In a statement to the ASX Mr Hywood, said: "Despite being issued a robust denial, The Australian has once again published the falsehood that Fairfax Media is contemplating an interest in Nine Entertainment Co. 

"So there can be no doubt: Fairfax Media is not interested in buying a stake of any size in NEC. Fairfax Media has not appointed Credit Suisse or any other advisors to assist Fairfax Media in buying a stake in NEC. The Australian's suggestions to the contrary are a total fabrication." 

Fairfax publishes BusinessDay and The Australian Financial Review.

Mr Hywood has repeatedly said Fairfax is not keen on free-to-air TV, which it regards as an industry structurally challenged due to the rise of Internet streaming and video-on-demand services.

A party friendly to Bruce Gordon, the Bermuda-based billionaire owner of regional TV network WIN Corp, has also been speculated upon as a possible buyer of the $50 million stake. Mr Gordon already owns 14.95 per cent of Nine, the maximum allowed, so could not buy a higher stake directly himself.

WIN Corp broadcasts Nine's programs into regional Australia and faces pressure as the metropolitan networks push into its territory streaming their shows across the country via the internet. 

WIN has begun court proceedings against Nine in an attempt to stop its metropolitan counterpart from streaming its channels into regional Australia via the internet.

Other market sources have pointed to US debt giant Oaktree Capital as a possible buyer. Both WIN and Oaktree could not be reached at the time of writing.

Others said it could just be a fund manager buying into Nine to make a turn on the possibility of sector consolidation if the Turnbull government is successful in its attempts at loosening media ownership restrictions.

The government this week proposed new laws to abolish the reach rule, which prevents mergers between regional television networks and their metropolitan affiliates, and the two-out-of-three rule, which stops any proprietor from owning a newspaper, radio station and television network in the same major market.

The law changes would allow the likes of Fairfax and Nine to merge, or News Corp to buy Channel Ten. Potential takeover activity has already been kicked off by Southern Cross Media, which has opened exploratory talks about selling its regional television assets to Ten Network Holdings. 

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It's expected to be a big day for ASX-listed Vita Group.

Street Talk understands Bell Potter Securities is in the market with a parcel of 15 million shares to be sold on behalf of chief executive Maxine Horne.

The shares are expected to be sold in a bookbuild to small cap fund managers on Friday and represents about one-third of the CEO's holding. 

It's understood the selldown will be accompanied by some good news, with Vita Group securing a major contract believed to be with Telstra. 

Vita Group is an independent reseller of mobile telecommunication products, running Telstra shops and Telstra business centres. 

The company has a $446 million market capitalisation. Its shares have jumped from $1.70 to almost $3 in the past 12-months. 

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