Westpac joins growing chorus predicting rates cuts for small banks
Updated
Fears that big banks are about to be forced to pay back billions of dollars they borrowed with taxpayer money is setting off fears the Government will introduce drastic new banking rules to save the banks.
The National Australia Bank (NAB) was slapped with more than $6 billion in capital surcharges in a federal court last year following the bank’s huge global run-up that cost more than $40 billion.
However, the case is now being heard at the High Court, meaning it is unlikely the Government would apply capital surcharges to the banks for the time being and it will be up to the big banks to pay back the losses.
NAB argues that this ruling only makes it harder for it to keep the money in the bank and it is unlikely the Bank Negara Malaysia (BNMK) would follow suit if capital costs for the banking system were reduced to levels that are comfortable for its shareholders.
But it has said it was planning to pay $12 bi바카라llion to settle its court case by the end of the year, including interest payments of up to $1 billion.
NAB’s lawyer, Mark Wilson, said that was a reasonable number and the bank wanted to keep its balance sheets on track.
«There are other banks we would want to work with that are not in the current climate in terms of capital,» h카지노 사이트e said.
He did not disclose the dollar amount but a source close to the bank said it was in the range of $10 billion to $12 billion.
NAB’s shares fell 4.3 per cent this morning in after-hours trading while the shares of the top 10 banks hit an all-time high.
But Mr Wilson said the bank was «in the very late stages of being in the black».
«There’s always the risk that it will be a big fight for us, and it’s a massive fight for the other banks to have to fight it, I would think,» he said.
«The banks who are probably on the lower end are not getting as much protection as other banks.»
The Governmentgospelhitz will appear for its first hearing in the matter at the High Court on October 25.
Topics: consumer-finance, banking, court-island-4870, wa
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