UPDATE 1-ANZ Bank CEO says banking industry has lost touch with customers

NSW LPI auction kicks off with expressions of interest NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian says the private sector is best placed to invest in new technology for the state's land ... NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian says the private sector is best placed to invest in new technology for the state's land titles register. Sydney Morning Herald by Sarah Thompson Anthony Macdonald Joyce Moullakis New South Wales Treasury is seeking expressions of interest for its land titles and registry services business by October 31. Treasury notified parties of the timetable on Tuesday morning, asking interested bidders to formally express their interest with sale adviser JPMorgan before the end of the month. NSW is seeking a private operator for the Land and Property Information unit, who would run the business for the next 35-years. LPI runs land titling and registration activities in the state. NSW's Land and Property Information. NSW's Land and Property Information. The concession is expected to attract offshore titling and registry companies such as Borealis Infrastructure's Teranet, local players including PEXA and Link Group and infrastructure managers such as Hastings Funds Management and Macquarie's MIRA. LPI had 885 employees at the end of the 2016 financial year and registered 935,000 documents in the 12-month period. Bidders are awaiting further detail on how much operating and management control will be available to them under the sale structure. It comes at busy time for Treasury's transactions team, who are also assessing the unsolicited bid for electricity networks company Ausgrid and running a sale for the Pillar superannuation administration business. Read more: http://www.afr.com/street-talk/nsw-lpi-auction-finally-kicks-off-with-expressions-of-interest-20161010-grzd4z?&utm_source=social&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=nc&eid=socialn:twi-14omn0055-optim-nnn:nonpaid-27062014-social_traffic-all-organicpost-nnn-afr-o&campaign_code=nocode&promote_channel=social_twitter#ixzz4MjZZlbzy Follow us: @FinancialReview on Twitter | financialreview on Facebook ================================ Tue Oct 4, 2016 | 10:46 PM EDT UPDATE 1-ANZ Bank CEO says banking industry has lost touch with customers UPDATE 1-ANZ Bank CEO says banking industry has * ANZ boss says industry suffers from bad behaviour, poor culture * Bank bosses may be called to testify more than once a year -PM * Government could move to make bank accounts more transferable (Recasts; adds further CEO comments, details of committee proposals) By Jamie Freed SYDNEY, Oct 5 The head of Australia's ANZ Bank said he believed banking bosses had been hauled before a parliamentary committee because the industry had lost touch with its customers, as he backed the introduction of consumer-friendly initiatives proposed by lawmakers designed to increase competition. Shayne Elliott was the second CEO of the nation's "Big Four" banks to face three hours of grilling this week by the committee, which was formed after a series of industry scandals involving misleading financial advice, insurance fraud and interest-rate rigging. "I think that as an industry we have lost touch with our customers and we have become too internally focused and forgotten our role in society and the community at large," Elliott told the committee on Wednesday, adding that had led to bad behaviour and poor culture. The committee proposed to call the bank bosses at least annually, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Wednesday indicated more appearances could be required. "I would expect the committee will ask the banks to come back more than once a year," Turnbull told reporters in Sydney. During his testimony Elliott, like Commonwealth Bank of Australia Chief Executive Ian Narev on Tuesday, said he was open to a proposal to set up a banking tribunal to arbitrate between aggrieved customers and the banks. Elliott also backed a potential move by lawmakers that would force banks to transfer customer data to other institutions to make it easier to switch banks, which can be a long and cumbersome process at present. "Absolutely we should enable that," he said. Elliott said he would not take issue with a proposal by committee chairman David Coleman to make it easier to set up new banks in Australia, where the Big Four control 80 percent of the lending market. The proposal could involve lowering capital requirements and a 15 percent shareholder cap, Coleman said. (Reporting by Jamie Freed) ================== Interest rates remain unchanged for October October 4, 2016 At the RBA meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.50%. The global economy is continuing to grow, at a lower than average pace. Labour market conditions in the advanced economies have improved over the past year, but growth in global industrial production and trade remains subdued. Actions by Chinese policymakers have been supporting growth, but the underlying pace of growth in China has been moderating. Inflation remains below most central banks’ targets. Commodity prices have risen over recent months, following the very substantial declines over the past few years. The higher commodity prices have supported a rise in Australia’s terms of trade, although they remain much lower than they have been in recent years. Financial markets have continued to function effectively. Funding costs for high-quality borrowers remain low and, globally, monetary policy remains remarkably accommodative. Government bond yields are near their historical lows. In Australia, the economy is continuing to grow at a moderate rate. The large decline in mining investment is being offset by growth in other areas, including residential construction, public demand and exports. Household consumption has been growing at a reasonable pace, but appears to have slowed a little recently. Measures of household and business sentiment remain above average. Labour market indicators have been somewhat mixed. The unemployment rate has fallen further, although there is considerable variation in employment growth across the country. Part-time employment has been growing strongly, while growth in full-time employment has been subdued. The forward-looking indicators point to continued expansion in employment in the near term. Inflation remains quite low. Given very subdued growth in labour costs and very low cost pressures elsewhere in the world, this is expected to remain the case for some time. Low interest rates have been supporting domestic demand and the lower exchange rate since 2013 has been helping the traded sector. Financial institutions are in a position to lend for worthwhile purposes. These factors are all assisting the economy to make the necessary economic adjustments, though an appreciating exchange rate could complicate this. Supervisory measures have strengthened lending standards in the housing market. Separately, a number of lenders are also taking a more cautious attitude to lending in certain segments. Growth in lending for housing has slowed over the past year. Turnover in the housing market has declined. The rate of increase in housing prices is lower than it was a year ago, although some markets have strengthened recently. Considerable supply of apartments is scheduled to come on stream over the next couple of years, particularly in the eastern capital cities. Growth in rents is the slowest for some decades. Taking account of the available information, and having eased monetary policy at its May and August meetings, the Board judged that holding the stance of policy unchanged at this meeting would be consistent with sustainable growth in the economy and achieving the inflation target over time.