Briefs: Clarification on Global IME Bank, ex-Westpac exec joins IMB, NZ Court rules on lenders' fees 23 October 2014 5:21PM Bernard Kellerman Briefs, A clarification arising from yesterday's Banking Day bulletin: the Nepal bank Global IME Bank Limited is licensed by APRA to operate a representative office only in Australia. Global IME does not hold a deposit taking licence. Former Westpac Institutional Bank executive Jan Swinhoe has joined the board of building society IMB. Swinhoe also led Westpac's Private Bank. She is currently a director of Suncorp Portfolio Services, Mercer Superannuation, Mercer Investments Australia, Athletics Australia and Australian Philanthropic Services. She joins a board chaired by former fund manager Michael Cole, who has been an IMB director since 2003 and chair since 2007. ASIC has intervened to stop payday lenders Cash Loan Money Centres and Sunshine Loans from offering 'sale and leaseback' arrangements to consumers over concerns the firms were deliberately attempting to avoid the small amount lending provisions of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act 2009. Broadly, an intending borrower would "sell" a household item such as a washing machine or fridge to the lender, in return for a sum of money, and simultaneously lease the goods back from the business. In practice, the goods never changed hands. ASIC's was concerned that consumers were charged considerably more than the amount allowed under the legislative cap on costs for payday loans. A Reuters story that the European Central Bank is mulling the purchase corporate bonds as early as 1Q15 has had fixed income players excited over the past day or two, although, as Ken Hanton (debt markets director in NAB's Product and Markets team) was quick to observe in a note to clients yesterday, the Reuters report citing an ECB spokesman also said "The Governing Council has taken no such decision", and the issue had not yet been put on the agenda for the December policy meeting. "Until the issue does actually get put on the agenda for Council members to discuss, and we would expect there will be quite a lot of resistance to such a measure, the ECB's 'actual' buying of covered bonds and future buying of RMBS and ABS will be more relevant for the markets (especially securitisation markets) over the coming weeks," Hanton wrote. New Zealand's High Court has issued a ruling on a case brought by the Commerce Commission against car loan finance company Motor Trade Finances. The Commission alleged MTF charged unreasonable account establishment, account maintenance and arrears fees to borrowers. The ruling sets out the Court's views on how finance companies should recover costs, and what limits should apply to the use of fees, with the Court ruling that most of MTF's "costs of being in the business of lending", such as bad debts, securitisation and bank costs are more appropriately recovered as higher interest rates, rather than fees. Commission chair Mark Berry said the ruling provided good case studies for other lenders. Appeals have been lodged by MTF. Commonwealth Bank of Australia boss Ian Narev has called for government backed infrastructure projects to assist in increasing the supply of housing stock, "particularly roads and transport, [to] open up new opportunities to develop residential living and therefore create more supply in the market which gets the property market to long-term equilibrium," the AFR reports. Citing a presentation by Narev at a CBA fixed income conference yesterday, it reports that Narev added that capping loan to value ratios was "not appropriate", as the average Australian LVR at origination was only 60 per cent and banks had full recourse.