Banking products
Should Australia have a new taxpayer-owned bank?
A Nationals-led Senate inquiry into bank branch closures has urged the government to investigate the establishment of a bank owned by taxpayers.
- by Clancy Yeates
Latest
Exclusive
Housing affordability
Banks open to overlooking student debt in home loans – but there’s a catch
The banks say it should be up to financial regulators to determine whether student debt gets special treatment in mortgage assessments.
- by Natassia Chrysanthos and Angus Thompson
BOQ profits stifled as inflation, higher funding costs shred margins
The bank unveiled a cash profit of $172 million in the six months to February 29, down 33 per cent compared to the first half of last year.
- by Sumeyya Ilanbey
Parliamentary inquiry to shine light on financial abuse
A parliamentary committee has launched an inquiry into the hidden problem of financial abuse in Australia, which has been described as a form of domestic violence that often goes undetected.
- by Colin Kruger
Analysis
Scams
$80 million in scams prevented as NAB rolls out new payment alerts
A new alert system from NAB has saved customers – including many desperate Swifties – a total of $80 million in potential scams.
- by John Collett
Bankwest to close all branches in digital-only move
Bankwest will disappear from WA streets by October as the Commonwealth Bank-owned brand closes 45 branches and switches to servicing its customers by digital means only.
- by Peter Milne
Opinion
Cash
How I found myself agreeing with cash king Bob Katter
Too many businesses are going cashless and it’s costing consumers. The banks and other payment providers, meanwhile, make a fortune from fees on card payments.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
‘Tide has turned’: Banks start to cut fixed rates
Lenders have started cutting fixed interest rates on home loans, as markets bet the Reserve Bank will reduce official interest rates later this year.
- by Millie Muroi
Perspective
Cash
How a pizza helped cash become my king, again
After a few COVID-mandated years of less tactile transactions, I’m re-embracing the simplicity of cash.
- by Cameron Atfield
App wars: How banks are trying to win over Gen Z
Banks are in engaged in a battle of the apps, as they try to win over younger customers who are juggling saving and spending in a largely cashless world.
- by Clancy Yeates
Reduce carbon footprint if you want cheap finance: NAB
Australia’s largest business lender has said it is inevitable banks will charge higher interest rates for businesses that aren’t reducing their emissions.
- by Sumeyya Ilanbey