Westpac IQ

The countdown is on for regulatory clarity on stablecoins, and it's time for banks, regulators and policymakers to prepare for what could be a fundamental reshaping of Australia's financial system. Here's what you need to know.

As 2025 has come to a close, our Q4 Sustainable Finance market update reviews the year's performance, looks at what’s ahead for 2026 and highlights developments in nature and finance. You’ll also find news on the latest market deals and details about an upcoming event you won't want to miss.

The latest edition of Sustainability Impact looks at ASIC’s support for smaller companies ahead of their mandatory sustainability reporting requirements, changes in the new Global Risks Report, the aim of Australia’s new National AI Plan, and more.

As we go to print, extreme volatility is gripping markets. News over the weekend has been anything but reassuring - the Hormuz Strait remains effectively closed, regional energy producers are shuttering facilities and policymakers are scrambling to secure their supplies. Crude blends are up more than 20%, a range of regional bourses are limit down (Nikkei -7%), the defensive ASX is down only 3.5% while US equity futures are down more than 2%. The Australian dollar gave up the 0.70-handle at the start of trading this week (-0.6%), and is surprisingly holding in well against these wider market moves. The calendars are much less eventful in the week ahead and will in any case be a very distant consideration to the dramatic upheaval in energy markets.

The Australian dollar witnessed a choppy grind higher last week; renewed tariff uncertainty and AI/tech angst saw AUD/USD open the week softer, before hotter local CPI and comments from Gov. Bullock triggered a mid-week rally, with the pair closing above 0.7100 on Friday. Weekend headlines of the US carrying out a strike against Iran saw AUD/USD slip down to the mid 0.7000s on Monday's open, however the pair has since clawed its way back to around 0.7100. Geopolitics remains at the forefront this week, however there is plenty on the calendar too; RBA Gov. Bullock, Assistant Gov. Hunter and Deputy Gov. Hauser will speak - we also receive local Q4 GDP, US Feb non-farm payrolls and Fedspeak.

The Australian dollar was in a corrective phase for a good part of last week, culminating in a low of 0.7015 on Friday, even with a decent enough local Jan jobs print to hand. The US Supreme Court's ruling against US tariffs has changed the calculus and saw AUD/USD trade back towards 0.7100. The week ahead is headlined by Jan Monthly CPI figures, key building blocks for Q4 GDP - CAPEX and construction work done - and Governor Bullock's speaks at a fireside event in Melbourne. The clock is running down on Iran and geopolitics will dominate the headlines too.