ANZ Bank has established a specialist team of bank executives to fix problems affecting its mortgage processing systems. ANZ has recently moved to outsource home loan settlement functions to Perpetual.

Recently ANZ's head of mortgages, Michael Bock, acknowledged that ANZ’s settlement procedures had caused inconvenience for solicitors and parties involved in property transactions. "It is clear from feedback from the profession that the changes we introduced to our settlements process have caused frustration and, in certain circumstances, significant inconvenience for some solicitors, conveyancers and clients - and we sincerely apologise," Mr Bock told the Law Institute of Victoria.

"We are working hard to fix these problems ... We understand your concerns, and ANZ is committed to making the necessary changes to ensure we meet your needs and clients' expectations for timely and efficient settlement of all purchases and discharges." ANZ plans to improve performance by increasing phone contact staff and investment in new technology.

Source: Herald Sun

Mortgage brokers receive a significant commission from banks and lenders on home loans they sell. Some brokers give borrowers a rebate on some of these up front and trailing commissions.

Peach Home Loans has been doing this for many years. They have been joined by some other ‘cash-back’ brokers including YourShare. YourShare director Paul Brady says the company has been swamped by enquiries since opening about three months ago.

Brady said he started the company when he realised that after ten years he was indirectly paying his broker about $600 per year through his loan repayments, despite not having heard from the broker for many years.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald

Forty thousand insurance claims are expected from Victorians affected by the ‘super-cell’ hail and thunder storm that hit Melbourne and surrounding districts on Saturday. Insurers are being overloaded with calls from policy holders and are expected to pay out more than $220 million.

Source: The Age

Bank of Queensland has built up its capital strength with a $340 million capital raising. The bank is believed to be targeting a smaller financial institution for a takeover bid.

BoQ is believed to want to grow in size to fill a gap left in the market by the takeovers of St George by Westpac and Bankwest by Commonwealth Bank.

Source: Sydney Morning Herald