Economy

There was a “subtle improvement” in housing affordability in the June quarter of 2018, which has been partly attributed to a rise in household incomes.

A quarter of Australian parents are putting off their own retirement to help their children enter the property market, according to a new survey from non-bank lender Homeloans.

There has been a surge in demand for properties located in coastal and green belt regions, a CoreLogic analysis has found, largely driven by an increase in wealth from property holding.

Westpac has announced that it will be reducing its cash earnings in 2018 by $235 million to address customer issues relating to its financial advice, including “fees for no service”.

Law firm Slater and Gordon has filed class action proceedings in the Federal Court against National Australia Bank and MLC on behalf of some of its credit card insurance customers.

The outgoing chairman of the ABC has informed ME Bank that he will not be seeking re-election to the board in the next annual meeting in October.

The federal government is consulting on new, harsher penalties for corporate and financial sector misconduct, including introducing new criminal offences and raising jail times.

High levels of household debt and higher interest rates are putting pressure on borrowers, with delinquencies set to rise in the coming quarters, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

A majority of borrowers are “burdened” by their mortgage, which they believe “limits their lifestyle”, according to new research.

The chair of APRA has placed pressure on the major banks to upgrade their legacy IT systems as they would not meet future prudential requirements.