What is Macquarie Bank?

Macquarie Bank Limited
	Public (ASX: MBL)
Founded	Sydney, Australia (1970)
Headquarters	Sydney, Australia
Key people	David Clarke, Chairman Allan Moss, CEO
Industry	Finance and Insurance
Products	Financial Services
Revenue	AUD 7.2 billion (2007)
Net income	AUD 1.46 billion (2007)
Employees	10,000 (2007)
Website	www.macquarie.com.au

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 $80 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 in Australia.

History

The bank was founded in 1969 and it began its operation from Sydney in January of 1970 as Hill Samuel Australia, a subsidiary of the UK's Hill Samuel, an entity founded by the same man as the Shell Corporation. 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.

Macquarie 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 and Bristol International Airport in the UK, for instance.

International Market Presence

Macquarie's operations are still primarily Australian although it has built a substantial presence offshore with operations in the United Arab Emirates, India, South Africa, Brazil, Canada, the United States, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, New Zealand, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Notable recent acquisitions include Cook Inlet, which now becomes Macquarie Cook, a gas trading operation based in Los Angeles, and Thames Water, one of the world's largest water companies. Macquarie employs 3,122 staff outside of Australia.

Macquarie Bank has developed a large presence in the Financial Services arena with their Financial Services Group's Wealth Investments Team managing over 479.8 Billion AUD of Funds Under Management.

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 the 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 news website Crikey dub the bank "The Millionaire Factory". Macquarie's capitalisation as at June 2007 was $23.5 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 by LSE management as "derisory".

Current Board Members

• David S. Clarke, AO, Executive Chairman
• Mark R.G. Johnson, Deputy Chairman and Chairman of Australian Gas Light Company
• Allan Moss, AO, CEO
• John Allpass, Former Managing Partner of KPMG's Queensland practice
• Laurence Cox, AO, Former Chairman of the Australian Stock Exchange
• Peter Kirby, Former Managing Director of CSR Limited
• Catherine Livingtone, Former Managing Director of Cochlear Limited
• Kevin McCann, Former Partner and Chairman of Allens Arthur Robinson
• John Niland, AC, Former President of the University of New South Wales, and former Cornell University professor
• Helen Nugent, AO, Chairman of Funds SA, Swiss Re Life, and Health (Australia) Limited

Notable current and former employees

Business

• Simon Hannes - financial analyst, convicted of insider trading
• Allan Moss - CEO

Public service

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.

• Bob Carr - Premier of New South Wales (1995-2005)
• Ross Cameron - Member of the Australian House of Representatives (1996-2004)
• John Hewson - Member of the Australian House of Representatives (1987-95) [Also famous for losing the 'unloseable' election]
• Max Moore-Wilton - former Secretary of the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet to John Howard
• Irene Moss - Commissioner of the New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption until November 2004; wife of Macquarie Bank CEO Allan Moss.
• Graeme Samuel - chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (2003-present)
• Warwick Smith - former Federal Cabinet Minister
• Alan Stockdale - former Treasurer of Victoria

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 represents financial knowledge and ingenuity.

See also

• 407 ETR
• M6 Toll
• Chicago Skyway
• Indiana Toll Road
• Red Bee Media
• Qantas
• East London Bus Group
• Selkent
• East London (bus company)
• National Grid Wireless
• Arqiva

External links

• Macquarie Bank global site
• Macquarie Bank Australian site

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