Briefs: Hockey to go ahead with deposit tax, Hartzer issues warning to brokers, Silver Chef refinanc

Banking Day staff
  • Treasurer Joe Hockey will put a proposal for a deposit tax to Cabint in the next week or two, according to the Australian Financial Review. The Government has been coy about whether it would proceeds with the previous Government's plan to fund the Financial Claims Scheme with a 0.05 per cent levy on deposits but now it appears to be going ahead. Small banks and mutuals may be exempt from the tax.
  • Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer has told mortgage brokers they will probably be the next sector of the financial services industry to face scrutiny, the Australian Financial Review reports. Speaking at an Aussie Home Loans sales conference in Melbourne yesterday, Hartzer said: "Don't assume that the current model is just going to keep lumbering on. The regulators are going to increasingly ask questions about sales practices and mortgages." He said changes in the UK meant interest only loans had to be sold as a fully advised product.
  • Specialist equipment finance company Silver Chef has established a new syndicated banking facility provided by ANZ, Bank of Queensland, Commonwealth Bank, HSBC and Westpac. The company said in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange that the new facility, which replaces a Commonwealth Bank facility, improved the terms of its funding arrangements, including reduced pricing and an increased capacity to fund future growth. The arrangement allows the company to borrow directly in New Zealand and Canadian dollars from overseas branches of the syndicate banks.
  • ANZ has established an international panel of tech experts to advise the board on the strategic implications of new technology and on emerging trends in technology and social media. The ANZ International Technology and Digital Business Advisory Panel will meet quarterly with the board's technology committee. Its members are Aliza Knox, managing director of online sales for Twitter Asia Pacific and Latin America, Don Kingsborough, former head of strategic development at PayPal, Filippo Passerini, former CIO of Procter & Gamble, and Gerard Florian, senior vice president for strategy and engagement at Dimension Data.