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Macquarie Bank Limited is an Australian merchant bank and financial services group, providing a broad range of products and services to investors, corporations and government. Its global headquarters is in Sydney, and it is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX). It is the only large majority Australian-owned investment bank.
During 2005, it raised more than $8 billion AUD in equity capital markets, capital raisings and floats, making it the largest player in Australia in capital raisings. It is the second largest player in the mergers and acquisitions area of corporate finance.
History
The bank was founded in January of 1970 as Hill Samuel Australia, a subsidiary of the UK's Hill Samuel, with three staff in Sydney. The bank took its name from Lachlan Macquarie, an early Governor of New South Wales who dramatically transformed the early colonial economy. The company became a trading bank and changed to its present name in 1986, at which time it opened branches in Melbourne and Brisbane. The company listed on the ASX in 1996, with an initial market capitalization of 1.3 billion AUD.
Maquarie Bank manages a number of listed investment funds. Over the past decade, the Macquarie Infrastructure Group, has become the world's largest operator of private toll roads both nationally and internationally. Other funds managed by the bank's subsidiaries have invested in projects such as airports, operating Kingsford Smith International Airport in Sydney, for instance.
Market Presence
Macquarie's operations are still primarily Australian although it has built a substantial presence offshore with operations in India, South Africa, Brazil, Canada, the United States, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, New Zealand, Austria, Germany, Ireland and the United Kingdom. It employs 2517 staff outside of Australia.
Core Business
The bank's activities work within six operating groups: Banking and Property Group, Equity Markets Group, Financial Services Group, Funds Management Group, Investment Banking Group, and Treasury and Commodities Group.
Macquarie's managing director is Allan Moss, and the board chairman is David Clarke.
The bank's high margins and profits, and the consequent rewards for its executives and shareholders, have seen gossip news website Crikey dub the bank "The Millionaire Factory". Macquarie's capitalisation as at January 2006 was $15.5 billion AUD. making it one of Australia's biggest companies by value.
In 2005 Macquarie announced a hostile takeover bid for the London Stock Exchange valuing the company at £1.5 billion, a bid rejected LSE management as "derisory."
Political connections
An unusual feature of Macquarie Bank, as a financial institution, is the very strong political connections that it maintains through the appointment of former politicians and senior political staffers to senior and highly paid positions. Notable political connections include:
- Bob Carr, former New South Wales Premier, employed as a consultant.
- Max Moore-Wilton, former chief political advisor to John Howard, is Chief Executive Officer of Macquarie Airports, the owner of Sydney Airport.
- Alan Stockdale, former Victorian Treasurer, is an employee.
- Warwick Smith, former Federal Cabinet Minister, is an employee.
- Ross Cameron, former Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, is an employee.
- Irene Moss, wife of the CEO, was the Commissioner of the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption until November 2004.
Graeme Samuel, the current chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission - one of Australia's main business regulatory bodies – is also a former executive director of the company.
Logo
Macquarie Bank's logo is a representation of the Holey dollar developed by Governor Macquarie as a solution to the monetary problems of the early Australian settlers. For the company, it is supposed to represent financial knowledge and ingenuity.
See also
External links
Banks of Australia | Companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange | Investment banks
"Macquarie Bank"