BT staff to support LGBTI youth on the ‘Wear it Purple’ Day.

BT continues to show its support for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) youth by asking all employees to Wear it Purple and producing a powerful and personal video of employees sharing their stories with the LGBTI community through ‘It Gets Better’.

It Gets Better

As announced in May BT is proud to be a principal partner of It Gets Better Australia – a non-profit organisation helping LGBTI youth cope with harassment and discrimination relating to their sexuality.

BT Financial Group (BTFG) Chief Executive Officer, Brad Cooper, said the sponsorship and ongoing programs within BTFG are about supporting LGBTI youth with the challenges they face due to community attitudes and the pressure and isolation felt when “coming out.”

It Gets Better Australia aims to show young LGBTI people the levels of happiness, potential and positivity their lives can reach. The organisation uses videos to capture the voices of adult LGTBI people who have experienced bullying and discrimination and who have come out the other side to live happy, fulfilling and successful lives.

BT Financial Group, Westpac and St. George employees (all part of the Westpac Group) have made their own video sharing powerful and deeply personal stories in the hope they will inspire LGBTI youth to feel supported and send the message that things really do get better.

Wear it Purple

August 29 is Wear It Purple Day, a day to show support for LGBTI youth by dressing in purple. It’s a day to empower LGBTI youth and raise awareness across schools, universities, workplaces and the general community about the challenges these youths face.

Statistics show (LGBTI) people have an increased risk of being bullied, discriminated against and assaulted, and suffer from mental health concerns as a consequence.

According to a report by the National LGBTI Health Alliance, 80% of LGBTI people in Australia experience public insults, 20% explicit threats and 13% physical assault, with the most ‘at risk’ places being home and school.

“This lack of acceptance and bullying has a knock-on effect for social and health outcomes, making it more likely for these youths to suffer mental health problems, drop out of school, use drugs, run away from home and even commit suicide,” Mr Cooper said.

Taking part in Wear It Purple Day is about building a world that allows every young person to thrive – no matter what their sexuality or gender identity. BT is working with It Gets Better and supporting Wear It Purple with the aim that LGBTI young people will be safe, supported and empowered.

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CANSTAR analysis has found that the average number of ASX companies on financial institutions’ acceptable securities lists has risen quite significantly since the height of the GFC, indicating that institutions are comfortable taking on a higher level of lending risk. “One broad way in which a financial institution can reduce margin lending investment risk is to reduce the number of acceptable securities,” said CANSTAR Research Manager, Mitchell Watson. “CANSTAR analysis has found that just prior to the GFC, the average number of ASX securities on the acceptable securities lists of the financial institutions we rate was 520. This number had plummeted to an average of 390 by December 2009. Even by December 2012 the average number of securities was only 419, but by December last year that number had risen to 446 securities. This perhaps indicates a more optimistic economic outlook.”

While the average number of acceptable securities overall saw a marked decline, the average number of ASX 200 companies on the acceptable securities lists remained resilient throughout the GFC. Page 2 of 3

CANSTAR today released its margin lending star ratings report, awarding five stars to outstanding lenders in two profiles – Share Investor and Managed Fund Investor. CANSTAR margin lending star ratings is a consumer-friendly benchmark that compares both the price, including the interest rate and fees and charges, and features, including the maximum LVR, the number of shares/managed funds offered, repayment options and other account features. Five-star lenders are considered to offer outstanding value for money. There are three five-star products in each of the Share Investor, and the Managed Fund Investor profiles.

Share Investor profile

Within the Share Investor profile, ANZ, CommSec and St George achieved a five-star rating, all maintaining their position from last year.

ANZ’s rating is driven by its acceptable securities score, providing lending on both the highest number of ASX 200 stocks and the highest number of stocks overall. Currently, ANZ provide lending on more than 700 stocks, which is significantly higher than the industry average of 446 stocks.

CommSec maintains superior product features with good direct client services including an unlimited transaction history, “what-if” calculators and weekly newsletters. They notify clients within 24 hours when in buffer. They also offer trading in options and warrants.

St George offers investors a good balance between features and price. On the features front, St. George offers periodic statements, “what-if” calculators and the ability to trade options among many other features to its clients.

Managed Fund Investor profile

Within the Managed Fund Investor profile, CommSec, CommSec Adviser Services and St. George all achieved a five-star rating.

Both CommSec and the advice model, CommSec Adviser Services, maintain superior product features, with the Adviser Services model providing a wider range of acceptable securities than the purely DIY model.

St George achieves the top score for acceptable securities. They have an extensive acceptable securities list with lending offered on 1,811 funds. This is significantly higher than the industry average of 1443 funds. They also offer a buffer margin of 10%.

Consumers can download the full Margin lending star ratings report on www.canstar.com.au

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Mark Spiers – General Manager Advice – BT Financial Group

Westpac and St.George Financial Planning aims to double the number of women working in planner roles by 2015 to over 700 planners.

This initiative will see current female representation in Westpac Financial Planning and St George Financial Planning increase from 26% to 45% over three years.

 “We know women make great financial planners and it’s time we made it easier for women to work in our growing industry,” says Mark Spiers, general manager Advice, BT Financial Group.

To achieve this, both St.George Financial Planning and Westpac Financial Planning have reviewed and revised their employment offers to ensure they are attractive, rewarding and progressive for women interested in financial planning as a career.

”By looking at our own work practices and listening to the changes women need to make the profession more attractive, we are making real change to the way we attract and retain women to the profession,” says Mr Spiers.

Structural change has already been made across both businesses to improve the flexibility of the employment offer and to increase the level of planner support.

This includes the revision of planner scorecards to better reflect flexibility of work hours, as well as access to childcare and the opportunity to purchase additional leave to help manage school holidays.

Increasing planner support via study assistance, induction programs and 100% paraplanner support have been key areas of focus. Career paths via different entry points into the profession have also been established, recognising that 63% of existing advice-related roles such as paraplanning, call centre and banking staff are filled by women.

Currently, there are approximately 16,500 planners in the financial planning industry, with approximately 13,200 male and 3,300 women.

“We are not taking a numbers-based approach in this project, but we are setting targets,” says Mr Spiers. “We want to be accountable and signal to the market we will make this happen.”

With the dawn of a new era of demographic change, increasing the number of women who are financial planners is essential if the industry is going to provide advice to more Australians.

Increases in longevity, higher female workforce participation and women wanting more control of their financial affairs will all put pressure on the limited number of financial advisers.

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The St.George Banking Group advice channel comprises: St.George Financial Planning, Bank SA Financial Planning and Bank of Melbourne Financial Planning.

New appointments

Head of Financial Planning – Bank of Melbourne

Ian Knight comes to Bank of Melbourne Financial Planning with a proven track record – having led a state team of planners. His role will to be to deliver the Bank of Melbourne’s growth strategy to see planner numbers rise to 50 within three years.

Head of Business Operations – St.George Financial Planning

Annie Wong has over 13 years in the financial planning industry leading paraplanning teams to help advisers deliver consistent high-quality advice documents and streamline processes to achieve greater productivity and customer outcomes. She will be responsible for business operations across the three brands in the St.George Banking Group’s advice business.

Head of Distribution – St.George Financial Planning

Jason Dunn, previously national CVP director for advice at BT Financial Group brings deep insight and experience into driving growth through providing an improved customer experience. He will be responsible for distribution across the three brands in the St.George Banking Group’s advice business.

“The roles are new and the line-up impressive. This is an injection of intellect and energy into the business that will build our advice offer, grow our planner numbers and drive quality outcomes for customers.” Mr Allen said.

“Ian Knight’s appointment as the head of financial planning for the Bank of Melbourne is part of our commitment to building our full-service offer to our Victorian customers. Ian will be based in Victoria and dedicated to the Bank of Melbourne brand,” he said.

“This is an exciting time in our financial planning businesses and, working in partnership with our banking colleagues, we look forward to delivering on our commitment to exceed our customers’ expectations.”

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James joins St.George Private Clients from Bank West Private Banking where he was East Coast Director and prior to this role, State Director QLD. He has also worked in the private banking teams at Macquarie Bank and ANZ.

“James has more than 18 years experience in the banking and finance industry, demonstrated ability to execute successful business plans and proven leadership and enthusiasm for delivering on the private banking proposition,” Ms Lim said.

“His experience as a state manager and private banker perfectly positions him to deliver on St.George Private Client’s strategy to provide holistic support across all our clients’ financial needs, including banking, lending, wealth, insurance, taxation and estate planning.

“James’ genuine passion for the people he leads will ensure his private banking teams are absolutely focused on delivering for our customers, in the true St.George style, with warmth, friendliness as well as great technical skills and industry knowledge.”

Ms Lim said James’ appointment completes the recent restructure of the business, with local leadership for distribution teams in each state driving a stronger focus on customers in each key region.

“St.George Private Clients provides a private banking alternative to the major banks and international players, with strong regional focus in each of Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia and, of course, New South Wales – St.George’s heartland,” she said.

“There is huge growth potential for private banking in Australia, with Australia’s private wealth market among the largest and fastest growing in the world. St.George Private Clients is well placed to deliver on this opportunity, with the St.George focus on customer service, together with the strength and capabilities of the BT Financial Group.”

James’ appointment is effective 22 November 2010.

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