Briefs: CBA board enlists IT expert, new Bartercard boss, BOQ launches RMBS, NAB correction, Westpac

Banking Day staff
  • Former Accenture executive Wendy Stops has joined the Commonwealth Bank board. Stops spent 32 years at Accenture, where her roles included senior managing director Technology, Asia Pacific. She retired last year. She replaces Carolyn Kay, who is stepping down after 12 years on the board.
  • BPS Technology has appointed Clive van Deventer to head its biggest division, Bartercard Australia. Van Deventer's background is in sales and marketing, with executive positions including general manager at Accor Vacation Club and senior vice president for sales and marketing at Wyndham Worldwide.
  • Bank of Queensland has launched an issue of residential mortgage-backed securities, seeking A$500 million of funding. The issue is backed by a pool of mortgages with an average loan-to-valuation ratio of 49.8 per cent, and an average size of $233,523. Investment loans make up 33.4 per cent of the total.
  • Westpac has launched a A$500 million issue of asset-backed securities. Crusade ABS Series 2015-1 Trust is backed by auto loan originated by St George Finance. The loans have an average yield of 9.7 per cent and average size of $22,414.
  • Correction: Banking Day reported last week that National Australia Bank has launched an RMBS issue, which it had not. Fitch had assigned expected ratings to an anticipated issue after NAB conducted a roadshow, and Banking Day mis-read Fitch's notice as expected ratings being assigned to an actual issue.
  • Senior managers at China's five biggest lenders - all of which are government controlled - had their total compensation for this year cut as part of efforts to combat inequality. Bloomberg reports the cut will help ease a public outcry over the pay gap between banking executives and average workers. The Chinese Government said last year it would reduce salaries for executives at state-owned companies because "unreasonably high" incomes had caused discontent.
  • Malaysian lender RHB Capital Bhd is seeking approval from the country's central bank to appoint an unnamed candidate to succeed Kellee Kam as chief executive officer. In a statement, RHB said: "a successor has been identified, the board will now proceed to seek approval from Bank Negara to appoint the said successor." RHB appointed Khairussaleh Ramli, the current managing director of RHB Bank Bhd and deputy group managing director, to be the acting group CEO. The CEO position became vacant after the resignation of Kellee Kam last month.
  • The Asian Development Bank is set to increase the amount it can lend annually for infrastructure and other projects by nearly 40 per cent to US$18 billion. The Manila-based development bank also plans to leverage its capital more through an accounting change that will allow it to borrow against a total of US$53 billion in equity, almost triple the current amount.