Briefs: Bendigo MIS, Amex growth better, Treasurers unhappy, EBA stress tests and more

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank will be ordered to appear before a Senate committee to explain its behaviour towards thousands of investors who put $1.8 billion into the failed Great Southern managed investment scheme, The Australian reported. A settlement between some investors, former directors, liquidators and the and the bank is due to go before the Victorian Supreme Court on October 28, but the bank's quest for repayments from investors on Great Southern loans continues to produce friction.

American Express saw "improved growth" in total billings in Australia and Korea over the year to September 2014 along with "very strong volumes in China," the company said yesterday. Volume growth was 16 per cent this quarter in the Japan, Asia/Pacific, Australia region for Amex. In the US "total billings growth improved by 80 basis points versus the prior quarter but the overall rate still rounded to nine per cent," CFO Jeff Campbell said.

An IDC Financial Insights study of 245 corporate treasurers within the FTSE 500 Europe showed 47 per cent of respondents had "investigated alternative payments providers." Only nine per cent reported themselves "satisfied" or "moderately satisfied" with their payments services. IT vendor Temenos sponsored the IDC study.

The European Banking Authority said it would publish EU-wide stress test results on Sunday, 26 October The stress test "assesses the resilience of EU banks to a hypothetical adverse macroeconomic scenario, uses a common methodology developed by the EBA, and applies it consistently across all participating banks," the EBA said.

Independent Reserve Pty Ltd said it would join the crowded Bitcoin market, with the opening of its new exchange based in Sydney. Independent Reserve said it was "funded by a group of private investors in Australia and Asia." It will charge a fee of 0.5 per cent on trades.

Peter Baker, managing director of BNP Paribas Security Services has quit and will leave the company today, after less than a year in the job. The Financial Standard reported Baker was offered a role in a business that is not a direct competitor to BNP Paribas Security Services, which operates under a separate banking authority to that of BNP Paribas.

Gresham Partners appointed Michael Lishman as head of its Perth office. Lishman is managing partner at law firm Clifford Chance in Perth.

The World Bank and Australia have pledged assistance worth US$100 million to improve education for 8.2 million Burmese students. The World Bank will fund $80 million of the program through its International Development Association arm, while Canberra pledged to fund the remaining $20 million through its Myanmar Partnership Multi-Donor Trust Fund.