Risky banks with lousy service

Some big numbers being mentioned regarding a large class action over Australian banking fees - the biggest ever class action in fact - following a path which saw the UK banks' overdraft fees challenged a few years ago, Aussie banks are now in the spotlight:

THE $57 million class action against ANZ Bank could turn into a multibillion-dollar claim against the nation's banks.

The three week Federal Court hearing involving 43,500 ANZ customers must decide whether the bank's fees of $25-$45 for over limit, late payment and other issues were illegal and unconscionable penalties disproportionate to its actual costs (here).

 And let it not be forgotten the banks are wringing the last drops out of the mortgage boom:

A BOOMING residential housing market, particularly in Sydney, is firing up mortgage applications at Australia's banks, with Westpac to enjoy some of its strongest mortgage applications for several years.

However, in an interview to mark two years since the creation of the AFS division, Mr Hartzer said that business confidence around the nation was still elusive.

"The kind of confidence that Australia needs is commercial confidence," the Westpac chief said (here).

While not doing enough to mitigate risk:

Australia’s biggest banks, whose lending standards helped the nation avoid a property crash during the global credit crisis, are raising concern with home loans helping to fuel record house prices.

The proportion of mortgages that represented more than 80 percent of a home’s value -- the loan-to-value ratio -- rose in the third quarter to the highest since the second quarter of 2009,data from the banking regulator show. Mortgages in which borrowers pay only interest also increased to the highest in at least five years, according to the figures (here).