Australia

After ANZ and Westpac's increased interest rates independently of the Reserve Bank, analysts are expecting Commonwealth Bank and NAB to follow suit.

ANZ and Westpac increased interest rates for mortgages and small business by six and ten basis points.

Rajina Rita Subramaniam, a Sydney-based accountant, got a seven year jail sentence for stealing A$45 million from her employer, ING Holdings.

South Korean banks' corporate lending rose sharply in January from the previous month, with a particular growth in lending to big corporations.

Moody’s identified banks in Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Vietnam as among the “most exposed” in the Asia-Pacific region to Europe debt crisis.

Westpac employees are bracing for a second wave of job losses as the bank seeks to curb costs.

Soaring loan costs are about to cost Australia’s “Big Four Banks” dearly.

The ANZ Group is seeking a licence in Thailand as National Australia Bank opens its first branch in India. Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra met ANZ chief Mike Smith on Friday to discuss reducing the two-year waiting period for a licence so that ANZ could set up its wholly-owned subsidiary. ANZ only has a representative office in Thailand. An ANZ spokesman said the bank had been looking to turn its representative office into a full branch so it could better service trade and investment flows between Thailand, Australia and New Zealand and other Asian countries. “It’s not a strategic priority but it’s an important part of having a fully fledged Asian network,” the spokesman said. Meanwhile, NAB is following ANZ and Commonwealth Bank of Australia into India by opening a branch in Mumbai. In an interview with the Rupee Times, Rob Wright, chief of NAB’s Asian unit, said the branch opening followed demand from clients for the bank to do more in India.

Hundreds of employees in danger of facing the axe as the lender trims down cost amid economic slowdown. 

Study says Australian banks have the capacity to borrow up to A$130 billion in covered bonds over the coming years.

Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. is set to cut hundreds of jobs according to  the Finance Sector Union.

The issue became possible after an amendment to Australia’s Banking Act allowing the country’s banks to offer covered bonds.

Four Australian banks will face a class suit for charging exorbitant fees.

Australia's Federal Court has found late fees charged on the cards could be characterised as a penalty and may be legally unenforceable.

Four of Australia's biggest banks were downgraded by Standard & Poor’s under its revised criteria.

Australians’ savings levels have increased to their highest since ANZ began measuring financial literacy in 2002.