ANZ Bank chief executive Shayne Elliott has warned South Australia would face higher borrowing costs if other banks lower their exposure to the state as a result of its bank levy, as ANZ has done.

• EXCLUSIVE

The corporate watchdog has been called on to investigate recent trading of Aveo’s shares ahead of the company announcing a $145 million buyback this week.

The corporate cop would no longer need to tip off targets of its investigations before obtaining a search warrant, something it must sometimes do today, under draft recommendations from a key government taskforce.

Insurance Australia Group shares struck a record high on Wednesday after the insurer unveiled a hefty profit upgrade, thanks to much lower claim costs than it had expected.

"If you don't fix your sales goals systems here in Australia, I'll see another similar to Wells Fargo scandal happening here in the future," says Kilian Colin, a whistleblower from the US bank.

Labor, the Greens and former ACCC chairman Allan Fels have called on the government to urgently review the retirement village sector following allegations elderly Australians are being ripped off.

Commonwealth Bank is the final major bank to hike interest rates for customers with an interest-only mortgage, while giving a smaller cut to homeowners paying down their loans.

REA Group has spent $67 million buying an 80 per cent stake in mortgage broking franchise Smartline, with plans to launch a new home loan business later this year.

QBE says it was unaware of the impact of losses in its emerging markets division on overall profitability during its annual meeting in early May.

Aveo Group shares have plunged and it faces allegations of misusing customer information.

Commonwealth Bank will cut 150 positions among Australian staff who process home loans, the latest sign of job shedding at the country's large banks.

Bank fears that cash-strapped governments will target the industry with higher taxes are mounting, as another state says imposing its own levy on banks would have its advantages.

Macquarie's stockbroking arm has been fined $505,000 after the market regulator found it had been "recklessly" trading for a client it suspected of trying to manipulate the market.

• ANALYSIS

There is a hidden and worrying risk lurking for a particular set of mortgage borrowers, whose level of financial stress is about to get a whole lot worse.

National Australia Bank has joined rivals in raising interest rates for customers with interest-only home loans, while cutting rates by a smaller amount for people paying down debt on a house they live in.

The country's five biggest banks are embroiled in a new tax brawl, after SA's government infuriated banks by imposing a new levy.

• EXCLUSIVE

Two Macquarie Group executives repeatedly drugged a colleague with valium and laxatives during a business trip to South America in a "malicious" attempt to discredit him.

QBE Group has dealt a blow to investor confidence in its turnaround, flagging a hit in its emerging-markets business that is forecast to wipe up to $US100 million off its bottom line.

• EXCLUSIVE

Macquarie Group faces a major class action over allegations some of its investment advisers artificially inflated the price of a small mining company before a sudden collapse wiped out many of its investors.

Westpac is increasing rates for interest-only mortgages by 0.34 percentage points at the same time as it makes smaller cuts in other types of loans.

• COMMENT

Many people misunderstand key concepts in banking, but few recognise the limits of their knowledge, a new survey suggests.

Credit rating agency Moody's has downgraded a dozen Australian banks, including the big four, citing increased risks in the nation's increasingly indebted households.

National Australia Bank financial planners are worried a review of how documents were witnessed could result in staff being reported under a new industry-wide scheme to identify misconduct.

• COMMENT

The Law of Unintended Consequences does not sleep.

• UPDATED

Treasury's costings for the $6.2 billion tax on banks assume they will pass on some of the impost to their customers, despite the government urging lenders to "absorb" the levy.

The corporate watchdog is banning an increasing number of financial advisers over misconduct, but wants more power to go after the banks that hire them.

The Commonwealth Bank's compensation bill for victims of bad financial advice has risen to $29 million but victims say they were excluded from the outset.

Australian banks have become stricter when it comes to how much they lend homebuyers but they are still more generous than their global peers, research finds.

ANZ's move to jack up the cost of interest-only home loans will probably be copied by rivals, analysts predict, as lenders respond to a regulatory crackdown while also protecting their profit margins.