BFCSA Blog

read more   http://www.afr.com/p/national/ato_franking_credit_crackdown_targets_c1DhjFeJkLgiKzKwzZs3NN ATO franking credit crackdown targets fundies, brokers and investors PUBLISHED: 24 Mar 2014 Thousands of fund managers, stockbrokers and sophisticated investors have been hit with warning letters threatening audits and heavy penalties if they do not confess to over-claiming franking credits on shares.  Leading figures within the finance industry are fuming that the Australian Taxation Office believes it can use data matching to trawl back as far as 2010 to compare tax deductions with individual share trading records.  “Our information indicates you, or an entity closely associated with you, participated in a franking credit arrangement,” Deputy Commissioner Tim Dyce writes in one of the 3000 ­letters sent by the ATO. “In this case, two sets of franking credits have been claimed on what is effectively the same parcel of shares.” Treasurer Joe Hockey announced in November last year that the ­government would close down a ­“loophole” which allowed...

For years Gadens have had the lion's share of the action in the Australian Mortgage Fraud. It is a matter of public record that they have defended the perpetrators of Fraud, orchestrated the bullying and repeated efforts to intimidate blameless and innocent home owners and witnesses to the Court hearings all in the name of "Justice" - and been allowed to get away with it by some of the "bank blinded" Australian judiciary! If you'd like a few samples of Gadens' handiwork on behalf of NAB, Bank West, Ing and others use the BFCSA blog search engine or see austlii.edu.au Gadens aren't the only lawyers willing to do this type of work.  After all this BANK SCAM has been going on for years under the watchful eye of both major Australian Political Parties. All borrowers and BFCSA members should check their documentation and report in with a list of all legal...

David Collyer was right. Denise's evidence and assertions are based in many years' research. There is no room for speculation in the black and white of her evidence. It's FRAUD. What is more it is intentional, premeditated and well organised systemic fraud. How can the regulators and the politicians deny the facts and keep their credibility? They can't. Further evidence has been revealed since the initial hearing at the Senate Inquiry. It underlines the even greater need for a Royal Commission. The Australian public want the truth. Investors want the truth. Borrowers want the truth. Our international reputation is also under scrutiny. Surely it is part of the job description of any chief regulator or parliamentary representative to supply informed, well-researched answers not off the cuff comments based on assumptions and their own opinion in order to protect their jobs! They are paid handsomely to supervise and ensure the stability our...

I rise tonight to talk about what I consider to be the greatest oxymoron in Australia at the moment—that is, ethical banking. I wish to relate some of my experiences during the early 1980s when my family were involved in a foreign currency loan in Swiss francs. We drew down the loan in January 1985. Shortly after that, we saw the depreciation of the Australian dollar. There was only one way to protect yourself from those loans and that was to hedge your loan. I went to my bank manager, Peter Neil—a good man who lives out here near Goulburn these days—and requested that I hedge my loan. He informed me that I could not, that that would change our currency and you could do that only at rollover periods. The rest is history because Mr Neil was wrong. The bank had not trained their staff properly and it led to...

"A Royal Commission into the Australian Banking Sector is our democratic right. To deny us that right is truly unAustralian."   There are many strong arguments in favour of holding a Royal Commission into Banking with wide terms of reference.  One of the side effect of the Royal Commission is its capacity to bring the issues into every Australian home through the main stream media. This in turn will generate far greater awareness of the serious anomalies and inherent risks within the Australian Financial Sector. It may also answer the questions for so many Australians whose lives have been smashed by the deregulated "free market" Australian Financial Sector, directly and indirectly, including the big ones: Why weren't we told? How could this be allowed to happen in Australia? Consumer protection isn't for just for the elderly - it benefits all Australians. We've been badly misled by those entrusted to protect us,...

By Philip Soos  Tuesday, 21 August 2012 The level of sub-prime mortgages in Australia may be far in advance of what was previously assumed and provided for by banks. The story was broken on the ABC, and covered elsewhere. The revelations centred around two personalities: Kate Thompson and Denise Brailey. Kate Thompson was a licensed mortgage broker at Mortgage Miracles in Western Australia. A highly regarded and award-winning broker, Thompson disbursed a veritable torrent of credit from bank and non-banking lenders to clients wanting funds to buy property, making around $5 million a year from upfront and trailing commissions. She is now facing fraud charges for what amounts to predatory lending: providing credit to people with little to no expectation they will be able to repay the entirety of the loan. This fraud was achieved by fudging the income and assets of clients, making them appear much wealthier on paper than was...