Velocity Frequent Flyer program members can use points and their membership cards to pay for petrol and selected goods at BP service stations. Velocity announced the initiative yesterday, saying it would introduce it in BP outlets progressively. Velocity members have to create a PIN and swipe their cards at payment terminals. The maximum spend using points is A$60. Suncorp has appointed Patrick Farrell as its new head of investments. Farrell is moving from BT Financial Group, where he was chief investment officer and head of Advance Asset Management. He will be responsible for Suncorp's portfolio of investments and funds under management. Newcastle Permanent Building Society Limited, rated BBB+ by Standard & Poor's and A2 by Moody's, yesterday priced a A$110 million increase to its existing line of April 2020 Medium Term Notes. This takes the total outstanding to $160 million. The additional securities priced at a margin of 158 basis points over the 3-month bank bill swap rate, which equates to a clean price of 99.211 per cent plus 0.163 per cent (ie, a gross price of 99.374 per cent). Newcastle Permanent also repurchased $33 million of its MTNs, due for redemption on 7 Nov 2016, at a margin of 40 bps over 3-month BBSW. Bankers leading the deal said this equated to a clean price of 100.136 per cent plus 0.599 per cent accrued (ie, a gross price of 100.735 per cent). All repurchased notes will be cancelled. Settlement is 25 July 2016 for both transactions. The sole lead manager was Westpac Institutional Bank. The banking ombudsman will be allowed to order banks to pay more compensation to a wider range of aggrieved business customers, as the corporate regulator pushes banks to incorporate stronger protections for business borrowers into the industry code of practice, the AFR reports. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission is in discussions with the Financial Ombudsman Service about expanding its small business jurisdiction, "with public consultation to commence soon".