Financial Services

About the Victorian financial services industry

Melbourne is home to a significant proportion of the national financial services sector:

Seven out of the top ten industry pension funds and the Federal Government's Future Fund are all managed out of Melbourne
60% of all Australian industry fund assets are managed from Melbourne
Most (around 75%) of Australia's licensed banks have operations in Melbourne, managing approximately 35% of the nation's banking assets
Two of Australia's largest banks, the ANZ and NAB are headquartered in Melbourne

Financial services in Victoria is the 3rd largest industry sector, representing almost 9% of the State’s economy and directly accounting for around 100,000 jobs and $22.8 billion in GSP during financial year 2007/08.

Victoria has real strengths in financial services research and education. Undergraduate and post graduate courses at Victorian universities include principles of finance, derivative securities, mergers and value enhancing strategies, risk management and regulation, international finance, finance law, financial planning and advising, treasury management, financial econometrics, financial planning environment, options and futures and portfolio management and theory.

Victoria plays a key role in positioning Australia as a major financial services centre in the Asia-Pacific region. The State offers:

a strong and diversified economy
a skilled financial services network
low-cost infrastructure
a stable regulatory and political environment
advanced information and communication technologies
high-quality professional support services

Melbourne is home to the Melbourne Centre for Financial Studies, an exciting initiative involving a partnership between public and private sectors, industry and academia. The Centre undertakes research, consulting and educational activities to support and enhance the global relevance of Australia’s finance industry as well as Melbourne’s role as a centre for financial research.

Melbourne is also home to the Melbourne APEC Finance Centre, an initiative that aims to help educate and train senior finance practitioners from APEC member countries.

	Investing in Victoria's Future: The Victorian Government's Action Plan for the Financial Services Industry (PDF 638Kb)
	Initiatives that aim to consolidate Victoria's existing financial services sector and strengthen the State's profile as a prime location for financial services in the Asia Pacific region

	Investing in Victoria's Future Report Card (PDF 641Kb)
	A report card on the progress of the initiatives in the Action Plan for the Financial Services industry shows that most have been fully or substantially completed

Contact the Business Victoria on 13 22 15 regarding any problems with file downloads.

Victorian Industry Manufacturing - Building Our Industries For The Future – Action Plans for Victorian Industry & Manufacturing (VIMS).

This comprehensive policy statement by the Victorian Government, released in December 2008 and containing a section on Financial Services, makes mention of the fact the Government is developing a multi – faceted strategy for the future of the State’s financial services sector which will be released in 2009.

Building our Industries provides $1.2 million over four years to:

continue to support and attract financial services events to Melbourne
further promote Victoria’s research, innovation, teaching and training capabilities to industry
establish stronger international linkages and boot Victoria’s profile in specialist financial services; and
chart and promote the capabilities and successes of the sector across Victoria through Innovation in funds management awards, case studies and supply chain management.

Melbourne Centre for Financial Studies

The MCFS is an initiative of the Victorian Government involving a partnership between public and private sectors, industry and academia. The centre undertakes research, consulting and educational activities to support and enhance both the global relevance of Australia's finance industry and Melbourne's position as a leading centre for finance research. The centre, a joint venture between the University of Melbourne, Monash University, and RMIT University, with the support of Finsia, is helping bridge the gap between industry and academia.

Victorian Finance Industry Council

The VFIC, an initiative of the Victorian Government, is both a consultative body in matters pertaining to financial services and a government advisory body on issues affecting the industry. The council is chaired by the Victorian Minister for Financial Services.

Future Fund

Based in Melbourne, the Federal Government's multibillion dollar Future Fund is a significant initiative designed to cover the Government's pension shortfall for commonwealth public sector employees. The Future Fund also means opportunities for investment managers and ancillary service providers, with income flow forecasts to grow with the Fund.

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