The author has been described by News Ltd as an "iconoclast", "Svengali", a pollie's "economist muse", and "pungently accurate". Fairfax says he is a "Renaissance man" and "one of Australia’s most respected analysts." Stephen Koukoulas concludes that he is "85% right", and "would make a great Opposition leader." Terry McCrann claims the author thinks "‘nuance’ is a trendy village in the south of France", but can be "scintillating" when he thinks "clearly". The ACTU reckons he’s "an enigma wrapped in a Bloomberg terminal, wrapped in some apparently well-honed abs."

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

AFR: Big four banks are stepping up their push into Asia

Hmmmmmm. I've warned against this repeatedly given the track-record the majors have with offshore expansion. From the AFR:

"Big four banks are stepping up their push into Asia, with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group seeking a licence in Thailand and National Australia Bank opening its first branch in India. ANZ has only a representative office in Thailand but is seeking a licence so it can set up its own wholly owned subsidiary."
at 7:51 AM