THE Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) has called for an Australian version of the British Business Bank to be considered.

Speaking at the Franchise Accountants Network conference in Sydney, Ombudsman Kate Carnell said access to finance was a major challenge for Australian small-medium enterprises.

“Banks are happy to lend to small businesses, but only if they have security such as property or cash,” Ms Carnell said.

“I’m concerned about SME lending constraints due to prudential requirements implemented after the Global Financial Crisis.

“The requirement for property security limits capital availability for small businesses with good cash flow and good prospects. Funding for many small businesses is unavailable at a reasonable cost.

“I’ve asked the Productivity Commission to explore the extent to which prudential risk weighting standards and capital requirements have had unintended consequences on lending to small businesses.”

Ms Carnell said the option of a Government-backed approach to small business lending like the British Business Bank should be considered.

“Other countries have identified a similar problem and come up with solutions,” she said.

“The British Business Bank can provide a government-backed 75 percent guarantee against the outstanding facility balance, potentially converting a ‘no’ credit decision from a lender to a ‘yes’.

 “The British Business Bank can also help small finance providers to tap institutional investors’ funds.

“Without a creative approach to small business lending in Australia we risk stifling growth, investment and employment.”

 www.asbfeo.gov.au

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THE Australian Retailers Association (ARA) said the September trade figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) represent a disappointing move towards Christmas, with a 1.44 percent total year-on-year growth - well below the seasonally adjusted long-term average.

ARA Executive Director Russell Zimmerman said these figures were extremely frightening this close to the biggest trading period of the year, and urges the Government to refocus on increasing disposable income.

“With Christmas not too far away, and the ARA Roy Morgan Pre-Christmas Sales Predictions to be released in a couple of weeks, these figures are in all honesty alarming,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“The category that’s been hit hardest in September was Household Goods with a -1.14 percent year-on-year growth.”

Mr Zimmerman said the softness in Sydney house prices are starting to impact consumer spend on household goods with Hardware and Building (-4.22%), Electrical Goods Retailing (-1.12%), and Furniture (2.98%) all showing a big drop in year-on-year growth.

“These figures show an obvious weakness in consumer confidence,” Mr Zimmerman said.

“If Australians aren’t feeling wealthy they will spend less, and this weakness is an issue across the board.”

The only retail category showing a slight increase was Food Retailing (2.85%), however this growth is still nowhere near the growth figures the retail industry received at the start of the year.

All states have again received a drop in year-on-year growth, an undesirable sign for Christmas. Although dismal, New South Wales (2.34%), Tasmania (2.33%), Victoria (2.29%) and South Australia (2.16%) showed the strongest year-on-year growth of the states. While both the Australian Capital Territory (1.17%) and Queensland (0.23%) remained quite low, Western Australia (-1.19%) and the Northern Territory (-1.46%) received negative figures, a worrying outlook for the months ahead.

With the ARA Roy Morgan Pre-Christmas Sales Predictions to be released in two weeks, Mr Zimmerman believes the Federal Government needs to act fast to stimulate the economy.

“There has been a lot of change in the Australian retail environment this year, and with change comes uncertainty, but one thing is for sure, Christmas is coming,” Mr Zimmerman said.

MONTHLY RETAIL GROWTH (August 2017– September 2017 seasonally adjusted) 

Department stores (2.08%), Food retailing (0.56%), Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.35%), Household goods retailing (-0.43%), Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-0.73%) and Other retailing (-1.67%).

South Australia (0.65%), Tasmania (0.58%), Queensland (0.26%), New South Wales (0.23%), Australian Capital Territory (0.06%), Victoria (0.02%), Western Australia (-1.30%) and Northern Territory (-1.65%).

Total sales (0.03%).

YEAR-ON-YEAR RETAIL GROWTH (September 2016 – September 2017 seasonally adjusted)

Food retailing (2.85%), Other retailing (1.79%), Department stores (1.34%), Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (1.05%), Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (0.15%) and Household goods retailing (-1.14%). 

New South Wales (2.34%), Tasmania (2.33%), Victoria (2.29%), South Australia (2.16%), Australian Capital Territory (1.17%), Queensland (0.23%), Western Australia (-1.19%) and Northern Territory (-1.19%).

Total sales (1.44%).

About the Australian Retailers Association:

Founded in 1903, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) is the retail industry’s peak representative body representing Australia’s $310 billion sector, which employs more than 1.2 million people. The ARA works to ensure retail success by informing, protecting, advocating, educating and saving money for its 7,500 independent and national retail members throughout Australia. For more information, visit www.retail.org.au or call 1300 368 041.

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THE HOUSE Select Committee on Regional Development and Decentralisation will hold a public hearing in Murray Bridge, South Australia.

The Chair of the Committee, Dr John McVeigh MP, said “through this public hearing, the Committee will engage with South Australians on the issues impacting their regions. The Committee aims to understand ‘best practice’ approaches to regional development and looks forward to hearing about the innovative approaches South Australians have taken on this issue.”

“South Australia is home to thriving agricultural, wine producing and tourism regions. The Committee is keen to hear how South Australia’s regions have leveraged their competitive advantages to promote growth and ensure the vitality of their regional communities”, said Dr McVeigh.

Dr McVeigh indicated that witnesses will include business and community leaders, industry peak bodies, local government representatives, and regional development experts and specialists.

Public hearing details:

9.00 am to 4.00 pm, Monday, 6 November 2017
Murray Bridge RSL, 2 Ross Rd, Murray Bridge East, SA

The proceedings will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

For the full program of this public hearing, see the Committee’s website.

Interested members of the public may wish to track the committee via the website.

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THE Australian Retail Credit Association (ARCA) welcomes the certainly provided by the Federal Government’s announcement that it will introduce a mandatory comprehensive credit reporting regime.

ARCA Executive Chairman Mike Laing said, “This announcement is a significant milestone that will positively transform credit reporting for both lenders and consumers.”
 
Today, the Turnbull Government announced that it will introduce a mandatory comprehensive credit reporting regime for the four major banks.  The regime will require the four major banks to share fifty percent of their comprehensive data by July 1 next year, and the remaining 50 percent by July 1 the year after. The Government also intends to consult further on whether to mandate additional institutions on a phased in basis.
 
To enable the mandatory regime, the Government has also announced that it will rely on the industry led and administered framework for the sharing of data.
 
As the peak body for the consumer credit industry, ARCA developed and administers the industry based data sharing framework, the Principles of Reciprocity and Data Exchange (PRDE). The PRDE is a principles-based framework which enables signatories to share positive information, such as on-time loan repayments, as well as negative data.
 
“These industry principles are critical to realising the benefits of comprehensive credit reporting and ARCA is pleased that the Turnbull government has confirmed that it will rely on them to implement its mandatory regime,” Mr Laing said.
 
Comprehensive credit reporting has been globally recognised for increasing the availability and affordability of responsible credit to borrowers. Positive information will improve the ability of credit providers to assess a consumer’s true credit capacity and make better lending decisions.

“ARCA looks forward to working collaboratively with Government, on behalf of our members and industry, as the Government drafts legislation enabling its announcement. We will continue to encourage and educate industry and consumers alike to better understand the benefits of comprehensive credit reporting and the PRDE,” Mr Laing said.

About ARCA
ARCA is the peak body for retail Credit Providers and Credit Reporting Bodies in Australia. ARCA promotes best practice in credit risk assessment and responsible credit, as well as promoting better standards in consumer credit reporting. ARCA takes a leadership role in encouraging the sharing of information to enable Credit Providers to better serve their customers.

www.arca.asn.au.

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