Banks offering excellent credit cards

Banks are the most common credit card providers in Australia and they keep the market highly competitive with fantastic deals at almost any price range.

Choose the best from the banks

Banks have so many different products on offer that it can be extremely confusing trying to figure out what is the best and this is compounded by the number of banks with excellent financial services.

Best value everyday savings accounts

The standard savings accounts that banks offer are some of their most popular products, but they often don't offer a great deal, the banks relying on advertising and brand awareness to bring in customers for these basic accounts.

Banks On Notice To Play Fairly

THE fight to abolish excessive bank penalties in Australia has been boosted by a landmark ruling in Britain requiring such fees to pass a fairness test.

Financial planning to maximise your investments

Banks often provide services to aid with financial planning, so if you've been considering investment but don't know where to start, then consult a financial planner to point you in the right direction.

High interest accounts: Term deposits or cash accounts?

Banks offer two excellent means of guaranteeing reasonable returns on medium to large investments, term deposits and high interest cash accounts.

Sorry, Wrong Numbers

Banks are finally beginning to tackle the issue of payments made into an account by mistake.

Get the right insurance package

Many banks offer insurance as a part of their range of financial services, with such excellent examples as Suncorp and its control of GIO.

Foreign exchange giving an advantage to Australian travellers

While foreign exchange rates of the Australian Dollar (AUD) against the United States Dollar (USD) remain favourable for Australians, tourism to the USA should be quite advantageous.

Chairman Reappointed

THE Rudd Government has appointed Gary Banks to a third five-year term as chairman of the Productivity Commission, putting him in a position to have significant influence on its unresolved agenda.

Get into property investment with interest only home loans

Banks offer a wide range of home loan options, but the interest only loan is one of the better options for people who wish to buy investment properties.

Banks understand the importance of agribusiness

Banking solutions exist specifically for the farming sector, with solutions for primary producers and related service providers.

No Gold For The Banks

Commodity prices run riot at the expense of financial stocks.

Many See The Bad Debt Arising

Other banks will follow ANZ's lead and increase their provisions, writes Eli Greenblat.

Banks Give Allco Three Weeks' Grace

THE debt-laden Allco Finance Group has not yet been able to persuade its main lenders of the merits of key parts of its huge asset sale plan, with the banking syndicate asking for more time to give its approval.

Retirement planning with bank products

If you're at the stage in your life where you're planning ahead to retirement, then it would be best if you start preparing the appropriate financial products as soon as possible.

Meddling Imf Short On Housing Facts

HOT on the heels of an International Monetary Fund report that total losses from the US subprime mortgage debacle could cost US and world banks a trillion dollars, comes news that the glow is rubbing off on housing prices in Western nations and Australia is in the firing line.

Use our convenient calculators to find the best from the banks

Banks have such a vast array of products on offer that it can become confusing as to whether a change from your existing financial services will be beneficial.

Looking to renovate?

Banks are some of the best providers of personal loans for your renovation needs, but which is offering the best rate with the terms to suit you?

As Lean Times Bulk Over The Horizon, Generous Loan Books Leave Banks Exposed

The market has already anticipated another round of provisioning by the banks.

St George Lures Citi Man

THE smallest of Australia's top-five banks has poached the head of one of the largest international financial institutions in the region to run its 400-strong retail branch network. In a coup for St George's recently appointed chief executive, Paul Fegan, Citibank's boss for Australian consumer banking, Les Matheson, will join the NSW-based bank in June.

Home Is Where The Heartache Is

Falling US house values are not just painful for borrowers - they're a looming problem for American banks. Gerard Wright reports.

When you need emergency funds, consider a payday loan

Banks can be too cumbersome when you need funds in an emergency, but payday loan providers like Cash Doctors can provide you with a small amount of money in a fix.

Banks Were The Ringmasters In This Ruinous Financial Circus

Bad times always seem to flush out the truth. The soul-searching now under way among our biggest banks - and their counterparts around the world - should have taken place early last year when it was obvious the stockmarket boom was built on a mountain of debt.

Banks Less Reserved Than The Guv'nor

ON THE day that two banks raised their interest rates, the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Glenn Stevens, says he cannot promise rates will not rise again.

Banks Leave Reserve In Their Wake

ON the day that two banks raised their interest rates, the Governor of the Reserve Bank, Glenn Stevens, says he cannot promise rates will not rise again.

Governor Likes Banks With Funds

THE Reserve Bank governor, Glenn Stevens, has reiterated his defence of highly profitable Australian banks adding premiums to official rate increases, saying that the alternative - banks not having enough money to lend - would be worse.

Cba Bumps Up Rates

THE BIG banks continue to drip-feed bad news to their borrowers, with the Commonwealth last night announcing it will increase mortgage rates by 0.12 percentage points.

We All Loathe The Banks' Digital Maze

LAST week's column about the horrors of trying to make a simple phone call to the National Australia Bank drew the biggest email response I've had in a long time. It was not quite as big as the uproar when I suggested that Israel wasn't doing too well in its bungled 2006 war with Lebanon; for that one, Telstra had to put on three extra staff to handle the traffic from Dover Heights alone.

Rba Chief Staunch In Defence Of Banks

RESERVE Bank governor Glenn Stevens has firmly backed the banks over their controversial actions in increasing their margins - revealing that had they not done so, the Reserve itself would have raised interest rates higher.

Are you with the best superannuation fund?

Superannuation funds receive so much support from the government that they are a very attractive investment for your retirement.

Protect your property with adequate insurance

Insurance is considered an unnecessary expense by far too many people, who endanger their livelihood and financial security but not investing in sound risk management.

Sharemarket Defies The Bad News To Rise Sharply

APPALLING news failed to quash market sentiment and the sharemarket rose strongly, even though some of the world's biggest banks are still losing billions.