WBC

Ansell (ANN), an Australia based company that operates in the gloves and other protective product industry was the best performer of the week in ASX100 with a gain of 11.6 percent or $1.20 closing the week at $11.52 (market capitalisation: $1560 million).

Gail Kelly, the chief executive of Westpac (WBC) claimed that the worldwide financial meltdown is over. Her declaration came after Westpac- one of the largest banks of Australia saw its cash profit climbing up 33 percent to as much as $1.6 billion for the first quarter due to a sharp fall in bad debts. In her statement Mrs. Kelly said, it seems the worst of the financial crisis is over although the company is monitoring the development closely.

One of the largest banks of Australia, Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC) may go for softer approach to the mortgage pricing in case the Reserve bank of Australia (RBA) decides to raise interest rates tomorrow when it meets. Although the banking giant has continued to get squeezed due to the funding costs, it is expected to go for a "middle of the road" approach for pricing interest rates across the board.

Gail Kelly, the CEO of Westpac (WBC) has sold more than $7 million worth of shares this month which is believed to be an attempt to clear up some debt. However, Mrs. Kelly still obtains shares in her bank that worth as much as $32 million. According to the bank, Mrs. Kelly had dumped 300,000 of her shares in the bank. While talking about the issue, Westpac stated that Mrs. Kelly sold her shares to deal with her personal financial matters.

The chief executive of Westpac (WBC), Gail Kelly today stated that Westpac has started for the financial year 2010 strongly and the company is current in a good position in the industry as the economy continues to recover itself from the massive financial crisis. Ms. Kelly in her presentation also mentioned that a strong household sector was playing a key role in the recovery of the Australian economy.

One of the largest banks of Australia, Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC) has appealed last month’s High Court ruling in New Zealand regarding the structured financial transactions which might cost it as much as $NZ918 million plus penalties. Westpac stated that it had reviewed Judge Rhys Harrison's ruling termed the transaction as an attempt to avoid paying tax.

Westpac Banking Corporation (WBC), a multinational financial service company, is expected to save $400 million by 2011 as a result of acquiring St George Bank (SGB). The bank estimated that it would gain $365 million in the next three years due to 20-25% of cost reduction and this figure has been upgraded because of the takeover. It is also expected that, about 2000 staffs will be sacked in this merge.

As a result of the economic slowdown, many companies in the recent past have announced capital raising programs. About 28 companies in the first half of 2008 and 49 companies since June have increased their capital and majority of them managed to stabilise their balance sheets. This was not the case in the recent years as balance sheet stabilisation was not a big portion of companies.

Australia’s third largest banking corporation, Westpac (WBC) has decided to raise its capital by A$2.5 billion through a share sale on Tuesday, to strengthen its balance sheet due to the acquisition of St George Bank (SGB), which does not have a sound lending books and raise in bad debt charges. This move follows a capital raising by National Australia Bank (NAB) last month.