insto - Australian financial markets

Bank of Queensland has acquired equipment financiers CIT Group Australia and CIT Group NZ for a total consideration of $475 million. BOQ says it plans to operate CIT as a standalone entity, but will rebrand it as BOQ over time. BOQ managing director David Liddy said CIT was “a true bolt on acquisition, in line with our strategy of expanding in to higher margin businesses.” BOQ also finalized the $45 million acquisition of former HBOS businesses St Andrews Insurance and St Andrews Life, both of them based in Perth.

A week after warning that it’s results could be impacted by adverse market conditions, Macquarie Group has announced a restructure in which it has merged its two funds management arms and revamped the group’s executive team. Macquarie will integrate its capital funds arm with its managed funds unit, creating a new division of wealth management with just over $300 million in assets. Shemara Wikramanayake has been appointed to head the global operations of the merged funds units, while John Roberts, head of Macquarie Capital F

Fitch Ratings has warned that NAB’s UK assets, which comprise the Yorkshire and Clydesdale Banks, pose a credit risk. Fitch, however, re-affirmed NAB’s AA credit rating. UK reports last week claim that NAB is pondering the sale of Yorkshire Bank for 2 billion pounds to Spain’s BBVA, a move NAB has denied. There is a question mark around NAB’s UK businesses after the bank pulled out of the bidding for around 300 RBS branches in the country. Meanwhile, NAB has announced a custodian services joint venture with the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.

CBA is believed to have an exposure of around $60 million to the failed property development company Devco, the development company of the Bankstown Airport Corporation. Investors in Devco include property giants Leighton and Mirvac, and superannuation fund Westscheme. The company went into receivership last week with debts of up to $300 million. KordaMentha have been appointed administrators.

Citigroup has publicly uttered what has been a running rumour in the market for several months: ANZ could merge with Asian banking specialist Standard Chartered.

With ANZ Mike Smith in Asia this week, Citi analyst Craig Williams says ANZ’s Asian push could drive it into the arms of StanChart to create an Asian megabank to rival HSBC.

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank is facing a class action launched by 1700 investors in failed managed investment scheme Great Southern. The action, launched by law firm Macpherson and Kelly, aims to recover principal and interest on loans paid into the MIS. Bendigo managing director Mike Hirst said the bank had acted within the law and was looking forward to refuting the claims in court.

NAB and Westpac have posted contrasting interim results, with analysts quick to seize on NAB’s 21 percent profit fall as evidence of the gap between it and other members of the Big Four.

However, while NAB’s net profit did fall 21 percent to $2.193 billion, the bank’s cash profit was up 8 percent off the back of lower bad-debt charges and an improved performance from its business banking and wealth management arms.

AMP chief Craig Dunn has reportedly ruled out the possibility of an all-cash offer for AXA Asia Pacific, which is still in play after the ACCC ruled out the NAB bid. Dunn reportedly told analysts at a closed-door Macquarie Equities seminar that the battle for AXA had some time yet to run and AMP was in no hurry. Dunn said AMP is still waiting on more details on the ACCC’s ruling announced in April. On AMP’s business, he said net cashflows improved 12 percent over the March quarter. NAB said last week it is still reviewing its options on the $13 billion bid for AXA.