Australia's CBA says average costs of funds rising

By Mette Fraende SYDNEY, July 24 (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of The Australian banking sector was strong, with CBA well positioned thanks to its strong capital base, but the business environment had changed, Norris told reporters after a business lunch on Thursday. The current challenging environment would last for at least another eight months, he added. "The current environment has an ongoing effect on the funding costs...all of us need to be aware that time has changed," Norris said. CBA, Australia's second-biggest bank by assets, on Wednesday said it was in talks to buy ABN AMRO's Australia and New Zealand operations, looking to strengthen its institutional banking and markets business. "We are looking at all of ABN AMRO's activities...ABN AMRO has some areas of business which we don't have. We see that as an... [read full story]