The Financial and Banking System Of Australia - Essay Example

The Financial and Banking System Of Australia I. Table of Contents Geography………………………………………………………………………………………..3 History of the country…………………………………………………………………………….4 The country’s financial system…………………………………………………………………...6 a. Historical overview……………………………………………………………………….6 b. Present monetary laws and regulations…………………………………………………...7 c. Types of financial institutions operating in the country………………………………….8 d. The central Bank………………………………………………………………………….8 e. Bank Regulation…………………………………………………………………………..9 f. Commercial Banks Operating in the Country…………………………………………….9 1. Commercial Banks…………………………………………………………………....9 2. Savings and Mortgage Banks………………………………………………………...10 3. Development Banks……………………………………………………………..…..11 4. Other Financial Firms………………………………………………………………..11 Country’s Balance of Payment and Balance of Trade…………………………………………...12 Foreign Reserves…………………………………………………………………………………15 Current Situation Of The Country’s Currency…………………………………………………...15 Risk Those Banks In The Selected Country Face………………………………………………..16 What Is The Country Doing About Preventing, Detecting And Eradicating Money Laundering And Terrorist Financing?...............................................................................................................17 Important Bank Failures And Scandals In The Country?..............................................................18 Summary and Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..18 What Is The Future Outlook For This Country And Its Financial System?..................................19 Would You Approve Lines Of Credit For Banks In This Country?.............................................20 Appendices………………………………………………………………………………………21 Table 1.0 List of Banks………………………………………………………………………….22 Works Cited……………………………………………………………………………………..24 I. Geography. The continent is a self governing country that is a part of the commonwealth federation. It is currently bounded by the Timor sea, Arafura sea, Torres strait, Coral sea, Tasman sea, Bass strait along with the Indian ocean (Verdier, p.11). It is the smallest continent found on the globe and the sixth largest country in the world. Its capital is found in Canberra with Sydney being the largest city found in the country (Weerassoria, p.16). It additionally comprises of six states which include New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania, Queensland, Victoria along with western Australia. The continent also comprises of two territories which are the Australian Capital along with the Northern one. The land forming the continent measures about 7, 614, 500 sq km (Gup, p.41). It also has dependencies such as the Ashmore territory, Cocos islands, Christmas islands, the Antarctic territory, the coral sea islands, Heard island along with the Norfolk islands (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.34). II. History Of The Country. The first occupants of the Australian continent were the aborigines who are believed by anthropologists to have migrated into the continent some fifty thousand years ago (Verdier, p.13). They are also believed to have settled and occupied the majority of the continent about thirty thousand years ago. Due to a rise in the sea level, The Tasmania was separated from other islands that were offshore (Gup, p.46). The Malaysian, Chinese, Indonesian along with Arab traders are estimated to have come to the northern part of Australia in the year 1500AD. The western countries only came to know about the Australian continent in the 17th century. The continent was the last discovery of new land that the western world made but was colonized by their powers (Weerassoria, p.23). Portuguese sailors are believed to have reached the eastern coast of the continent at around the 15th century when they were looking for a sea route connecting Africa and India. Spanish sailors led by Luis Vaez de Torres in the 16th and 17th century first saw the Australian continent but did not get there as their interests were further north in the Philippines (Gup, p.56). It is the Dutch who were using more advanced sailing ships who were responsible for making the discovery of the continent a reality during the 17th century. This occurred when they creating trading centers between Africa and Indonesia. They did not however settle in the continent as they found nothing of interest for their businesses (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.67). Their voyages and discovery of the Australian continent thus brought the British into the land. This came during the Enlightenment age that occurred in the 18th century with the stressing of scientists along with philosophers on the importance of worldwide exploration (Verdier, p.19). It was the British Captain referred to as James Cook who in the year 1768 landed on the continent’s eastern coast and called it New South Wales. It was this discovery that eventually led to the permanent settlement of the British on the continent (Weerassoria, p.29). The British brought the continent into becoming a part of its tactical ambitions with the expansion of their business and military activities. The country also utilized the new found land as a jail for its criminals after losing its colonies in America (Verdier, p.21). This eventually led to the formation of the commonwealth republic of Australia which includes the mainland Australia and the Tasmanian island. Currently, the Australian continent is the most sparsely populated with a population of about twenty million people implying that three people share a kilometer (Gup, p.72). The country’s population mostly live in urban centers. Most of the inhabitants who were originally in the country were of Irish and British origin but more of them started coming into the country after the second world wars. The country was created after the passing of the constitution law by the British Parliament in the year 1900 (Weerassoria, p.30). The constitution enabled the creation of a federal system of governance that was headed by a governor general who is the formal head. It also consisted of a parliament and a prime minister charged with coordinating and monitoring government activities (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.98). The fight for the colonies independence was influenced by the generation of gold and the need to stop transporting convicts. The colonies were granted legislative councils that helped them to take control of the issue of policy making and policies concerning their land (Verdier, p.37). III. The country’s Financial System. a. Historical Overview. During the month of January in the year 1960, the RBA (Reserve Bank of Australia) started operating as the country’s central bank. On the other hand, the commonwealth banking company controlled the functions of the commercial banks situated in the country (Weerassoria, p.36). There were initially very tight regulations that were present within the economy as at the end of the First World War (Gup, p.81). The RBA was charged with setting the interest rates and maturities on the deposits financial banks were receiving. They made the saving banks pay depositors interests thus making them the dominant monetary organizations used by the people. Their main purpose was to ensure the economic stability of their people (Verdier, p.42). At around 1970, the saving banks in Australia were offering personal loans with little qualitative rules while introducing the notion of decimal currency (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.124). In the year 1972, the act on Banks Shareholding was utilized in minimizing the maximum amount of shares an individual could own. In the previous year, the Australian dollar along with the New Zealand dollar had become associated to the American dollar as opposed to the Sterling pound of the United Kingdom (Weerassoria, p.41). It was not until later in the 1970’s that the financial deregulation began in the country thus opening the markets to bigger competition. The traditional services on offer from banks also changed at the time with the introduction of specialists into the system (Verdier, p.53). The specialists offered services such as trusts for managing finances and mortgages which helped in the rapid introduction of changes within the banking sector. The 1980’s in turn saw banks taking leading positions in the various sectors of their market while the 1990’s saw the privatization of the commonwealth bank. During the 1990’s the issue of lenders outside banking sectors became more prominent with the services offer ranging from home loans to debt management (Weerassoria, p.45). B. Present Monetary Laws and Regulations. Currently, there are several laws that are used for regulating the transfer of cash from a financial institution to a customer and vice versa (Verdier, p.51). The 2008 law against money laundering along with the financing of counter terrorism acts are utilized in identifying suspicious transfers of cash while reporting and filing the cash transactions for appropriate measures to be taken (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.136). Regulation within the Australian monetary system is carried out by APRA and ASIC. APRA has been charged with the duty of licensing and supervising the banks, credit unions, building societies, participants in credit card systems, superannuation funds and insurance companies. It recently issued guidelines on capital adequacy for banks that were consistent with the guidelines of Basel II (Weerassoria, p.56). The financial institutions that fall under APRA’s regulations have to provide the periodic reports to the body. The regulation of financial banks is carried out under the Banking Act though financial intermediaries like investment banking institutions are subjected to supervision by APRA. On the other hand, these institutions obtain their licenses via the Corporations act of 2001 (Gup, p.112). They can also obtain their licenses from other pieces of commonwealth and state laws and this depends on the type of activity they are carrying out within the country. Alternatively, ASIC is responsible for ensuring integrity in the financial markets while protecting consumers from unscrupulous deals and the use of inferior goods (Verdier, p.66). The Australian Reserve Bank, created in the year 1960, stipulates that their financial system is to be utilized for the purpose of understanding the arrangements that cover the issue of borrowing along with the lending of finances. It also helps in the comprehension of ownership transfer of monetary claims (Miller, Vandrome & John, p. 144). C. Types of Financial Institutions Operating In the Country The financial system found in the country comprises of many different sectors which include Banks, building societies and credit unions which are the major financial institutions found within the country’s economy (Weerassoria, p.76). It also includes insurance companies that offer life along with other general policies, superannuation, the financial markets which include the equity, derivative and debt markets (Verdier, p.71). Finally, the financial system in Australia contains a payment system which handles cheques, cash, RTG’s, EFTPOS among other payment systems that are of high value (Gup, p.114). D. The Central Bank Propositions for a central bank in Australia came about in the mid 19th century. This happened after the collapse of their financial along with banking sectors. This efforts were led by the country’s labor party and this ended up in the creation of the commonwealth bank. This bank was a combination of commercial and a central bank (Verdier, p.77) Due to various challenges and laws that changed over time the bank was eventually changed to the Australian central bank (Weerassoria, p.81). The Australian central bank was created in the month of January 1960 and was charged with the task of issuing banknotes. This occurred after the Reserve Bank law of 1959 withdrew the functions of central banking from the financial organization referred to as the commonwealth bank. It offers financial services to the government along with other financial institutions located within the country (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.155). It comprises of the boards in charge of the payments system that governs its payments policy and the board of the reserve bank which is in charge of the central bank’s banking along with monetary policies. Both of the boards comprise of members from the central bank, treasury, governmental agencies and executives from other organizations within the economy (Verdier, p.93). The treasurer of the bank selects the governor who chairs payments and the reserve bank boards that make up the bank’s organizational structure. It is the governors duty to resolve any disagreements that crop up between these two boards (Wankel, p.57). Part of the bank’s power has been transferred to the APRA along with the Board on payments system since the year 1998 though the bank still has power through the board. This happened during the deregulation of the country’s financial system (Gup, p.145). E. Bank Regulation The regulation of banks found in Australia is carried out by the association known as APRA and ASIC. APRA has the duty of licensing and supervising the banks, credit unions, insurance companies and the superannuation of finances (Weerassoria, p.86). ASIC on the other hand has been charged with ensuring integrity within their markets while protecting the customers of the institutions (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.186). F. Commercial banks operating in the country. 1. Commercial Banks This are financial organizations that provide savings, transactional along with currency market accounts within Australia. They also accept deposits from their individual clients and organizations (Weerassoria, p.89). The Australian commercial banking sectors is mainly dominated by four large banks which came into being after the abolishment of the law banning mergers between financial institutions in the year 1990 (Verdier, p.97). The four main banks are the National Australian Bank, the Commonwealth Bank Of Australia, the Australian and New Zealand Banking Group and the Westpac Banking Company (Gup, p.156). The Australian ruling body recently made announcements concerning the rejection of any form of mergers between the main banks. This clearly shows that the resentment for mergers between financial institutions of this type is a growing (Verdier, p.100). Recent reports have branded the four pillars as being founded on economic fallacies and claim that they usually work against the country’s better interests (Wankel, p.59). Their competitors within the commercial sector comprise of regional banks which are smaller and include banks such as the Bank of Queensland, Suncorp, ME Bank and Bankwest among others (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.192). A comprehensive list of the commercial banks found in Australia along with their assets, deposits, total liabilities, capital, retained earnings, loan charge offs and net incomes is given in the appendix (Wankel, p.1567). 2. Savings and Mortgage Banks The offering of savings and mortgage facilities within the commonwealth republic of Australia is offered by commercial institutions. Mortgages are forms of debt instruments that are utilized by individuals or organizations making purchases in real estate (Weerassoria 96). The savings and mortgage banks issue money to qualified customers against some form of security that could be in the form of a lien on the property’s title until the amount provided is repaid in full (Verdier 101). In case a borrower defaults on the repayment of mortgages provided, the bank can repossess and sell it to regain the funds. The savings and mortgage banks usually accept customer deposits and issue loans to the members (Wankel 65). Examples of such banks in the country are the Australian Central credit union, AMP Banking, Bank of Melbourne along with the Bank of Queensland among others (Gup 163). 3. Development Banks. They are Banks that sponsor economic development within the country especially large infrastructural projects. They promote development activities through the provision of financial aid and technical skills in projects in various sectors of the economy (Wankel 71). The banks have continued growing and increasing their influence despite the recently witnessed global recession (Miller, Vandrome & John 210). Many development banks within the country have also witnessed a growth in their capital resources. The banks have also been responsible for development projects carried out in several developing countries by the government of Australia (Verdier 123). For example, the Asian Development Bank that is located in Australia is responsible for the eradication of poverty in parts of Africa and Asia. Other development banks include Rural Bank and the commonwealth Bank of Australia (Gup 178). 4. Other Financial Firms. Australia has other financial firms that range from credit unions to building societies along with mutual banks. The mutual banking organizations serve over four and a half million customers across the nation and own assets that are worth over 85 billion Australian dollars (Weerassoria 105). Among the largest mutual banks in the country are The Heritage Bank, CUA, Newcastle permanent, the People’s choice credit union and bankmecu (Miller, Vandrome & John 224). There are also building societies that are found in the economy which are owned by members of various mutual organizations. These institutions provide banking along with other similar financial services that include mortgage lending among other services (Verdier 131). These types of institutions receive their funding primarily from their members deposits. The customers of the building societies are the members who form it and have ownership of the institution (Gup 171). In addition credit unions are also found in Australia and are cooperatives that are controlled and owned by their customers. The customers are usually members and shareholders of these organizations with their deposits being utilized as loans by other members. They are non-profit making institutions with no outside shareholders and have no pressures of making profits at the expense of their members needs (Wankel 117). They additionally offer many facilities that range from loans, planning for finances and accepting of customer deposits. This type of organization greatly emphasizes on customer service that provides good quality to their customers (Verdier 147). Finally, there are foreign banks that operate within the Australian banking sector. These are banks that are subsidiaries of other foreign financial organizations and have branches along with representative offices within the country. The banks usually generate their incomes from investments, interest on advances and loans, income from commissions charged and other additional fees (Wankel 127). Examples of such banks that operate in the country are the Deutsche bank, Arab bank of Australia and Investec Bank among others (Miller, Vandrome & John 231). IV. Country’s Balance of Payment and Balance Of Trade The ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) is responsible for presenting statistics on the nation’s balance of payments. This presentation is usually made in accordance to the set international standards (Verdier 145). The principal exports for Australia include coal, metal ores, gold, meat and its products, wool, nonferrous metals, petroleum along with petroleum products and cereals (Gup 321). The major purchasers of Australian exports are the united states, Japan, South Korea, new Zealand, the United Kingdom, China, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong. The country also makes a lot of importations from the countries that import from them (Wankel 132). Countries such as Indonesia and Germany are major suppliers of imports to Australia. The country’s leading imports are machinery along with transport equipments, which make up about 47% of all imports as at the year 2007 (Verdier 164). Other major imports the country acquires include office equipments, textiles and petroleum products. In addition, the country also exports agricultural along with medical research facilities and services to the Asian region (Miller, Vandrome & John 239). The nation’s economy has been under large debts for the past fifty years and this has been influenced by the country’s less exports. The government has started efforts of redeveloping the country’s manufacturing sector which are known as the microeconomic reforms (Verdier, p.171). The reforms have helped the country’s population to grow from 10.1% to 19.8% from 1983 to 2008 (Weerassoria 122). There is a great likelihood of increasing the country’s current deficit in future as a result of the overdependence on capital products imported from abroad (International monetary fund 321). The country also experiences low levels of savings that have additionally contributed to the high deficits the country faces in its current account. The low savings are incurred as a result of the high expenditures businesses incur when purchasing equipment from abroad (Wankel, p.167). This in turn makes the businesses within the country to seek additional funds from abroad. An excessive deficit in the country’s current account along with low confidence by investors and the likelihood of a crisis in their currency could force the imposing of macroeconomic policies for purposes of restricting economic growth (Verdier, p.183). The country however requires long term solutions for the purposes of securing their economic viability. Previous reports indicate that the country’s performance in their balances of payments in 1989 showed that their deficits in their current account equaled the country’s GDP. In another ten years, their deficit read 4.3% implying that their exports had increased (International monetary fund, p.301). Currently, economic experts have stated that the country’s deficit in their current accounts will be equal to 5.7% of their GDP. As at December 2007, the country’s deficit reached $19.3 Billion that showed an increase of about 18% over the previous three months. In the year 2012, the country reportedly had a deficit of 480 million Australian Dollars (Weerassoria, p.156). The credits for commodities and services did fall by 2% with non-rural commodities falling by 3% and rural commodities by 9% (Gup, p.331). In addition the value of non-financial gold did rise by 43% with their net exports remaining steady. The value for credits for services also fell by 3% which equaled a value of $141million. Commodity and service debits fell by 4% which is approximately $1,009 million to $24,905 with the value of consumption goods falling by 7% which approximately stands at $395 million. The intermediate and merchandise goods did fall by 3% which indicates $ 307m drop in value and capital commodities falling by 5% which additionally indicates a fall of $257m (International monetary fund, p.334). Finally, the value for their non-financial gold has risen by 2% which is approximately ten million Australian dollar while their service debts have fallen by $61m which stands for approximately 1% (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.254). V. Foreign Reserves The country’s foreign exchange reserves as at march 2012 stood at 40,835m, US dollars or 39,257m Australian dollars compared to $38,476 in the month of January 2012. The SDR’s were valued at 4,621m US dollars or 4,443m Australian dollars compared to 4,627 in the month of January 2012. Their total reserves within the IMF stands at 2,221m US dollars or 2,136m Australian dollars compared to $2,169 in the month of January 2012. On the other hand, their total gold reserves are worth $4,268 or 4,103m Australian dollars in the IMF compared to $4,478 in the month of January 2012. Their total foreign reserve as at march 2012 as $51,946m or 49,938m Australian dollars compared to $49,750 in the month of January 2012 (International monetary fund, p.341). The value for the foreign currencies is valued according to market quotations with all accruing interests being taken into account (Verdier, p.211). The changes that occur in the values of the official asset reserves between various periods reveal that the nature of purchases along with sales including the swapping of foreign reserves by the country’s reserve bank (Weerassoria, p.173). They also reveal the nature of the country’s earnings in terms of foreign securities and transactions with companies based abroad (Gup, p.341). VI. Current Situation Of The Country’s Currency. An Australian dollar is the currency utilized in the commonwealth of Australia for purposes of buying and selling (Verdier, p.234). It is further subdivided into a hundred cents and is used in Christmas island, Cocos, and Norfolk island and the pacific island nations of Tuvalu, Nauru and Kiribati (Wankel, p.182). Currently, its ranked third around the world in terms of the most traded currencies (Weerassoria, p.181). This is a tremendous improvement in its performance since in the year 2010 it was ranked as the fifth most traded legal tender (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.268). It is very popular among money traders due to the high rates of interest that the country offers and the freedoms from intervention by the governments in the markets handling the foreign exchanges. The currency is additionally strong due to the political stability that is witnessed in the country and other additional benefits that come due to its exposure to Asian currencies. Currency traders usually refer to the Australian dollar as the ‘aussie’ (Gup, p.339). VII. Risk Those Banks In The Selected Country Face Banks and other financial institutions in Australia encounter various risks that range from risks in interest rates, markets, credit, liquidity, off-balance-sheets, foreign exchange, sovereign, technical and operational risks and the insolvency risks (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.277). Interest risks occur if the maturities of assets and liabilities owned by the banks are mismatched. Market risks on the other hand occur when their trading portfolio’s for their assets along with liabilities encounter adverse shifts in prices (Weerassoria, p.191). Credit risks are encountered when clients default on the loans they have taken and other financial obligations they are supposed to face. A liquidity risk is encountered by a financial institution due to the occurrence of excessive withdrawals their customers whereas off-balance sheets risk occurs when the values of the institutions assets along with liabilities change (International monetary fund, p.351). Foreign exchange risks are likely to occur when the exchange rates encounter adverse changes (Gup, p.351). Interventions from the ruling or political classes in the banks affairs usually yields a risk on their managements sovereignty in the making of decisions. The banks additionally encounter an insolvency risk when their total equity capital becomes insufficient for withstanding losses incurred because of the exposures associated to similar risks (Verdier, p.256). The banks within the country have developed effective management skills to enable them in surviving within their sector in the long run period (International monetary fund, p.365). The banks and financial institutions are constantly facing the threat of fraudsters and money laundered from other areas entering their markets. This is as a result of the high crime rates that are currently prevalent in the global financial markets. However, the country’s parliament introduced the anti-money laundering law in addition to the law on counter-terrorism financing in the year 2008. This two laws were particularly important in identifying and monitoring customer activities using an approach that was risk based (Weerassoria, p.196). They also developed and maintained compliance programs while urging the institutions to report any suspicious issues and cash transactions. They are additionally required to file reports that will later on the supervised and acted upon by AUSTRAC (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.293). VIII. What Is The Country Doing About Preventing, Detecting And Eradicating Money Laundering And Terrorist Financing? The country’s parliament introduced the Anti-money Laundering Law in the year 2008 to curb the issue of money laundering. They empowered the banks with the ability of identifying and monitoring clients financial activities while using approaches that were risk based (Gup, p.401). They also introduced the counter-terrorism financing law in the same year for the purposes of tracking down any transactions that were being carried out by terrorists or their financiers within the country or those living abroad. In case any suspicious issues in the flow of finances are discovered the financial institutions are supposed to directly report the issue to AUSTRAC (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.304). IX. Important Bank Failures and Scandals In The Country? The banking industry in Australia has experienced several important failures along with scandals from the nineteenth century. The major failures were witnessed in the liquidity crisis of 1826 along with the economic depressions of the 1840’s (Weerassoria, p.199). The coming of the twentieth century became less explosive since only three banks in the country were seen to suspend payments. In the year 1931, the primary producers financial bank in Australia was the last recorded bank failure (Wankel, p.191). Since then the banks problems have been determined without bringing losses to the amount deposited in them by depositors (Gup, p.421). Between the years 1901 to 2003, there are a total of eleven insurance corporations which have entered liquidation (Wankel, p.197). However, the introduction of the insurance law in the year 1973 many other insurance corporations encountered liquidation with some failing to continue with their operations (International monetary fund, p.376). The deregulation of banks that occurred in the 1980’s and 90’s increased the desire by various banking institutions to grow rapidly due to the resulting competition (Weerassoria, p.201). This led to the collapse of state banks found in Victoria and the southern Australian region. Members of superannuation finances have also lost their funds due to mismanagement, fraud and theft (Wankel, p.202). A good example is the commercial nominee of Australia where $24 million dollars were lost by the 25,000 investors within the organization due to mismanagement (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.314). X. Summary And Conclusion The failures within the Australian financial system have demonstrated that the significant problems being experienced have been adequately dealt with through the enactment of various laws (Verdier, p.226). Despite the fact that the country experiences few financial failures, the community within the country seems to have high expectations of their government (Weerassoria, p.214). The previous financial disturbances witnessed in the country have acted as catalysts in the enactment of new law to counter these problems. The country’s financial system is flexible, modern and competitive as it closely interacts and conforms with other systems across the globe (Gup, p.360). In conclusion, the Australian financial system has a relatively strong performance when compared to other systems found across the globe (International monetary fund, p.381). There are however major challenges that the country’s financial system encounters in relation to the stability and costs of funding, augmenting pressures for competition so that they can enhance their clients welfare (Weerassoria, p.232). The enhancement of competition is vital for promoting efficiency and gains within the industry. Stability within the country also needs to be checked since it forms an important part of the country’s financial infrastructure (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.338). XI. What Is The Future Outlook For This Country And Its Financial System? The future for the commonwealth of Australia and its financial system looks bright. This is because of the political stability the country experiences along with its offer of high interest rates (Wankel, p.247). Currently, many investors and stock traders are dealing in the Australian dollar thus increasing its international power (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.369). The government of Australia has come up with a debt reduction plan that will enable it to improve its balance of payments and trade. This makes the situation appropriate for the financial system being applied in the country to become a success (Gup, p.361). XII. Would You Approve Lines Of Credit For Banks In This Country? Yes. I would approve lines of credit for the banks in this country since the nation experiences political stability, offers high interest rates and their currency which is the Australian dollar is performing well against other currencies in the global stock market (Verdier, p.279). The country additionally has low records of defaulters and has already adopted modern technologies used in the banking sector (Miller, Vandrome & John, p.374). XIII. Appendices. Abbreviations RBA: Reserve Bank of Australia. APRA: Australian Prudential Regulation Authority. ASIC: Australian Securities and Investment Commission. NAB: National Australian Bank. RTGS: Real Time Gross Settlement. GDP: Gross Domestic Product. AUSTRAC: Australian Transaction Reports And Analysis Center. IMF: International Monetary Fund. CUA: Credit Union of Australia. EFTPO’s: Electronic Fund Transfers at point of sale. Table 1.0 List Of Commercial Banks in Australia along with the values of their Assets, Deposits, Total Liabilities, Capital, Retained Earnings, Loan Charge Offs, Net Income. Name of Bank Assets (A$ billion). Deposits (A$ billion). Total Liabilities (A$ billion). Capital (A$ billion). Retained Earnings. (A$ billion). Loan Charge Offs (A$ billion). Net Income. (A$ billion). Westpac Banking Corporation 123.1 534.67 98.1 75.42 415.98 678.23 998.45 Commonwealth bank 121.45 521.56 99.55 68.69 402.65 674.51 990.332 Australia and New Zealand Banking Group 120.98 519.87 101.78 56.25 399.04 669.67 989.76 National Australia Bank 119.88 517.63 103.32 54.54 380.95 654.03 960.52 CUA 65.05 256. 68 165.67 8.9 40.32 112.23 344.45 Heritage Bank 61.09 253.11 178.56 8.67 38.97 110.42 340.32 Newcastle Permanent 60.34 243.765 181.34 8.54 37.89 105.56 335.61 People’s Choice Credit Union 59.67 241.85 184.32 8.48 35.95 103.4 332.12 IMB 57.41 219.78 185.43 8.25 30.66 101.97 328.59 Bank of Queensland 53.65 217.53 187.506 8.19 29.08 99.56 317.88 Bank of South Australia ltd. 52.77 209.76 188.75 7.90 28.98 96.95 310.23 Bendigo Bank 44.8 205.67 190.65 6.75 26.99 94.56 307.44 Heritage Building Society 43.67 202.76 193.55 6.43 24.78 91.33 304.42 Macquarie Bank Ltd 43.5 198.89 196.41 6.25 20.23 89.31 301.46 Perpetual 42.9 195.66 197.79 6.156 19.98 87.98 298.03 Qantas Staff Credit Union 42.8 199.35 200.15 6.07 18.87 86.55 295.06 Rabobank Australia 39.0 203.88 202.875 5.85 17.75 85.96 290.88 St. George Bank 38.0 199.95 203.96 5.72 16.88 85.40 234.79 Woolworths Ezy Banking 36.1 197.60 205.43 5.22 16.30 85.15 231.80 Works Cited Gup, Benton E., Corporate Governance In Banking: A Global Perspective, 2007. New York. Edward Elgar Publishing. International monetary fund, Australia: Financial System Stability Assessment, Including Reports On The Observance Of Standards And Codes On The Following Topics: Banking Supervision, Insurance Regulation, Securities Regulation And Payments System (Epub), 2000. New York: IMF Press. Miller, Frederick P., Vandrome, Agnes F. & John, McBrewster, Banking In Australia, 2010. London: VDM verlag. Verdier, Daniel, Moving Money: Banking And Finance In The Industrialized World, 2002. Cambridge: Cambridge university press. Wankel, Charles, Encyclopedia Of Business In Today’s World, Volume 1, 2009. New York: SAGE. Weerassoria, W.S, Banking Law And The Financial System In Australia, 2000. Sydney: Butterworths. Read More