Briefs: CBA completes capital raising, Macquarie forecasts 40 per cent earnings increase, St George
Commonwealth Bank has completed the final stage of the capital raising it launched last month, with a successful retail bookbuild. The bank has raised a total of A$5.1 billion of equity capital. Macquarie Group expects earnings for the six months to September to be up about 40 per cent on the previous corresponding period. A weak Australian dollar has been good for Macquarie, 70 per cent of whose income is generated outside Australia. Macquarie said there had also been improved trading conditions in most of its businesses. Results for the March half next year are expected to be in line with the September half. St George Bank has introduced a facility that allows customers to set their own ATM withdrawal limits from their mobile banking app and via internet banking. Customers can increase or decrease their daily ATM and point of sale cash withdrawal limits, with a minimum of A$20 and a maximum of $2000 for debit and credit cards. St George head of mobile Travis Tyler said in a statement that the new facility, which is also available to Bank of Melbourne and BankSA customers, would save customers time and give them more control over their accounts.