Briefs: NZ's online lenders failing to comply, ASX and InfoTrack move into e-conveyancing
A review by New Zealand's Commerce Commission has found one in five online lenders breached disclosure rules set out in the Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act. The Commission reviewed 215 lenders' websites in the second half of last year. It said 21 per cent "potentially failed to comply with one or more of their obligations to clearly and prominently display costs of borrowing, standard form contracts terms and accurately represent a borrower's cancellation rights". It also found significant variation in interest rates and fees, with interest rates charged ranging from zero up to 803 per cent per annum. Fees were described in 500 different ways and ranged from $5 to $500. The review did not look at major banks' activities, which will be the subject of a second review. ANZ has received approval for a securities license in Japan from the Financial Services Agency, which will allow it to sell Australian, New Zealand and Asian bonds, as well as structured notes, repurchase agreements (repos), and other securities products to Japanese investors. ANZ is the only Australian bank with the securities license. Yuichiro Imaizumi, currently ANZ's head of markets for Japan, will take on the role of CEO of ANZ Securities (Japan) Ltd. ANZ Japan currently operates under a banking license, which allows the bank to offer FX spot, forward, rates derivatives and commodities-related products. ASX Limited and Australian Technology Innovators Pty Limited, the parent company of econveyancing technology and services provider InfoTrack, are to enter the national electronic property settlement market via a joint venture vehicle, Sympli Australia Pty Ltd. Subject to regulatory approvals, the ASX said it expects Sympli to begin operations towards the end of this year. ASX expects to invest A$7 million in 2018, and a total of around $30 million in the new venture over this and the next two financial years, to reach a break-even point in 2021. The electronic property settlement industry in Australia is estimated to have potential revenues in excess of $200 million.