Day 366: Class action falls over
An introductory weekday newsletter from Schwartz Media. Counting the days since the banking royal commission was established.
Good afternoon and welcome to day 366.
Today in summary: A class action that won support in the wake of the Hayne royal commission looks to have fallen over; ANZ hedges its bets on plans to offload its superannuation business to IOOF; and journalists pile up in the race to publish books about the Hayne royal commission.
-- Charis
Current banker panic level: 😨😨😨
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A large class action against the major banks floated by retired insurance broker Roger Brown with the support of Sydney-based law firm Chamberlains has reportedly failed to get over the line. The AFR cites a letter by Chamberlains to clients advising it wouldn’t be going ahead:
“Despite our efforts we have been unable to identify a clear class of claimants who have a clear class of action against a particular Australian bank. As a result we are unable to take this process further."
Brown, who had been working on the action targeted at mortgage lenders and brokers for years, has previously claimed he had about 200,000 borrowers ready to join the action and A$75 million to back it from UK and European investors.
The board of ANZ’s OnePath superannuation business say they’re waiting for additional information from IOOF before making a full assessment on a planned deal to sell OnePath to the beleaguered wealth management firm. IOOF and its regulator APRA came under fire in the Hayne royal commission, and APRA is now seeking to have managing director Chris Kelahar and Chairman George Venardos disqualified from acting as superannuation trustees. A spokesman for ANZ told the AFR:
"The proposed transfer to IOOF will only proceed if the trustee, considering members' best interests, and ANZ are satisfied with IOOF's suitability, and that the matters raised by APRA have been properly addressed,"
A vote by OnePath trustees on the deal is now not expected until February, more than a year after it was announced. Meanwhile, class action lawyers are circling IOOF with a shareholder action in the works.
Hayne royal commission watchers are in for a treat in 2019, with no less than four books on the topic locked in for the second half of next year. The Age’s Adele Ferguson, The Australian’s Michael Roddan, Sky News’ Annelise Nielsen and the ABC's Dan Ziffer are all in for some long hours in front of a screen turning lawyer speak into prose.
Today’s burn prize: New Zealand’s Reserve Bank
🔥🔥🔥
“While borrowing costs may increase a little, and bank shareholders may earn a lower return on their investment, we believe these impacts will be more than offset by having a safer banking system for all New Zealanders.”
New Zealand’s Reserve Bank deputy governor Geoff Bascand isn’t too worried about the hit to the bottom line Australian banks will take from his plan to almost double the amount of high-quality capital he expects banks operating in New Zealand to hold.
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