Briefs: CBA seeks SAf licence, EECU trading as Nexus Mutual, ASFA frowns on ombudsman plan
Commonwealth Bank will acquire a banking licence in South Africa, Robert Jesudason, group executive for international financial services told The Australian. In 2015. in South Africa, CBA paid about A$40 million for Tyme (Take Your Money Everywhere), developer of a mobile online banking system targeted at developing economies. There are now 685 TYME kiosks in more than 500 Pick n Pay stores while CBA, is acquiring customers at the rate of 5000 a week, with the current total in excess of 86,000, Jesudason said. EECU Limited, the credit union for ExxonMobil staff, will begin trading as Nexus Mutual from today. The credit union said the change was the result of a 12-month long brand review, "driven by the organisation's five-year growth strategy to increase its relevance among members and potential members within the community." Ashley Hood, chief executive, said that "while the EECU brand has a strong history with members involved with Esso, an affiliate of ExxonMobil, it didn't resonate with the broader membership base the credit union now serves." The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia is no fan of plans to amalgamate dispute resolution schemes. ASFA CEO Martin Fahy said the government should increase funding for the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal rather than replace it with a Superannuation Ombudsman. "We don't want to see an outcome where consumers end up with an inferior arrangement for dispute resolution when it comes to their super, " Fahy said. Australian structured finance new issuance "is likely to remain restrained in 2017," Standard & Poor's said. "Pricing sensitivity and regulatory requirements will continue to affect new issuance volumes, especially for bank originators. However, we expect issuance from nonbank originators to continue to grow as repeat issuers adapt structures to attract offshore investors."