Reserve Bank

ATM fees have long been a sticky topic. For many people, paying an ATM transaction fee is an unwelcome but accepted fact of life.

For Indigenous Australians in remote communities however, ATM fees can have a significant impact on their life, swiftly eroding their humble bank balance.

This is the finding of a report released late last year by the feisty Australian Financial Counselling and Credit Reform Association (AFCCRA), titled “ATM Fees in Indigenous Communities”, which focussed on excessive ATM fees in remote communities.

Continue reading "When banks rob people at ten bucks a hit" »

‪First home buyers have just cause to feel betrayed by the Rudd-Gillard government as they struggle under the strain of seven consecutive interest rate rises which have been exacerbated by loose fiscal policy.‬

‪A disturbing new survey by Mortgage Choice has found that 10 per cent of first home buyers, who purchased their homes in the past two years, have either sold their homes or are considering selling because of financial hardship, caused by interest rate hikes.‬

‪The survey also found that another 6 per cent would sell if interest rates climbed a further one per cent, while another 14 per cent would sell if they rose another 1.5 per cent.‬

Continue reading "Labor lured then betrayed first home owners" »

In 1983, money came out of the closet. Up until then any discussion about money was taboo and considered uncouth. No-one ever talked about how much their house was worth, or what shares to buy, or whether to buy Aussie dollars now to get the best rate before they went on holidays.

Term deposits were considered financially sexy. No-one had heard about managed funds, superannuation or property syndicates unless you were among the rich and famous.

At that time treasurer Paul Keating floated the Australian dollar and deregulated the financial system.

Continue reading "Stop talking about your money, spend it!" »

Ralph Norris and the Commonwealth Bank have had a tough week.

Following the decision to raise lending rates by almost double the Reserve Bank’s own rate hike there has been stinging criticism from pretty much every sector of the economy and a bit of personal abuse thrown in for good measure. 

Representatives from across the political spectrum have anointed “bank bashing” as Australia’s new national sport and the CBA and Ralph himself are a daily headline for every journalistic medium.

Continue reading "Ralph… what we have here is a failure to communicate" »

Two weeks ago I decided to take a public stand on behalf of ordinary Australians. Home buyers, consumers and small business are sick and tired of being taken for a ride by the banks, who time and time again increase their interest rates above and beyond the official movements of the Reserve Bank.

I’ve had my critics - but if that means I’m standing up to a guy who earns $50,000 a day, while the customers who underwrite his business earn $50,000 a year – then I’ll cop it.

A strong banking sector is vital, but at the same time banks have an obligation to give something back to the community.

Continue reading "Hey Wayne, are you still laughing about bank reform?" »

This time yesterday Australians were merrily preparing for the Race that Stops the Nation, confident in the economists’ predictions the RBA would avoid the un-sportsmanlike act of hiking interest rates on Cup Day.

Just 24-hours later all hell has broken loose.

The RBA might have turned on the rates tap with its 25 basis points rise in official interest rates announced at 2.30 yesterday afternoon, but the Commonwealth Bank forced open the flood gates with an immediate move to put its own rates up 45 basis points.

Commbank boss Ralph Norris is not talking this morning, instead letting the Australian Bankers Association make the running.

Association chief executive Stephen Munchenberg said: “What the Commonwealth Bank is saying is that that marginal effect has built up 2 basis points or 0.2 per cent each month, and that’s now built up over nearly a year since the banks last moved interest rates, so there’s a cumulative effect there.”

Westpac just announced its profits have risen 84 per cent in the last 12 months. Yes, that wasn’t a typo - 84 per cent. In the 12 months to September 30 the Gail Kelly-steered Westpac made a net profit of $6.346 billion.

Apparently Kelly is due to make an announcement later today. Wonder what on earth that could be.

Continue reading "What a bunch of bankers" »

Attempting to make political capital out of interest rates is a risky business. It’s so tempting for both governments and oppositions to have a go at it, but invariably it ends up like some kind of disastrous military quagmire from which you must make a humiliating retreat.

:

Joe Hockey’s demands that the Government step in to stop banks raising interest rates above the levels set by the Reserve Bank is a big and risky play. He could ask his former Prime Minister John Howard about its dangers. Howard’s famous statement that “interest rates would always be lower under a Coalition Government” came back to bite him in 2007 when rates rose right in the middle of an election campaign. 

Hockey has been immediately embarrassed by the reaction of one Liberal MP to the prospect. Liberal MP Don Randall was asked about idea this morning, and not knowing it came from Hockey said this:

Continue reading "Hockey’s big dangerous play on interest rates" »

The likelihood of interest rates rising is back on the agenda, following explicit warnings from the Reserve Bank that it is considering the need for tighter monetary policy.

The Coalition has consistently warned that the Labor Government’s heavy borrowing and build up of debt will put upward pressure on interest rates.

These warnings have been rejected by the government and by a few select commentators in the media.

Continue reading "Big spending equals big rates - no buts about it" »

Update 3pm: The RBA surprised everyone and left interest rates on hold today.

In recent years a horrendous new phrase has appeared to describe people struggling to make ends meet. They’re suffering from “mortgage stress.”

This week it was reported almost half of the young people who availed of the Rudd Government’s increased help for first-home buyers were suffering from this terrible condition. If true life will get a whole lot more stressful for them over the coming months as interest rates return to normal, starting most likely with a Reserve Bank announcement this afternoon.

Where did this “mortgage stress” phrase come from, anyway? It sounds like some kind of psychological disease that should be covered by Medicare. As far as I can tell what it actually means is you have borrowed too much money.

Continue reading "Are your stress levels going up with interest rates?" »

UPDATE: As of 5pm all four banks have already passed on the interest rate increase.

For the second time in as many years, the Reserve Bank has helped cement the banking community’s reputation as a cuddly bunch of warm-hearted funsters by using Melbourne Cup Day to stick it to home-owners.

.

While you were munching on some prawns the RBA increased rates from 3.25 per cent to 3.5 per cent, resisting the temptation to go for a much more dramatic and painful 0.5 per cent rise, but still sticking by its warning that there would be more more pain to come.

Many people with mortgages will shrug this one off – we’re still about $700 a month better off in terms of repayments than we were when the GFC hit.

Continue reading "Kevin Rudd does not want to own these rate increases" »

Update 2.35pm: The RBA has just announced it has raised the official cash rate by 0.25 a per centage point to 3.25 per cent.

The Rudd Government is yet to make a hard decision. But this won’t stop them leaving the heavy lifting to someone else - namely Glenn Stevens at the Reserve Bank.

Whether the RBA decides to lift interest rates today or on Melbourne Cup day, this will be a hard decision. It will mean increased pressure on family budgets and small business.

For the more than 200,000 Australians who have bought their first home recently, it will their first Rudd rate rise, with more to follow.

Continue reading "We don’t want to join the high interest rates club" »

Last Friday I continued a tradition of my predecessor in Cook, Bruce Baird, by catching up with one of our more prominent Shire constituents at Tatterstalls Club in Sydney.

The occasion was a public hearing of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, which Bruce used to chair. The constituent was none other than Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens. The Shire conspiracy over economic management in Australia continues!

As usual, reports of the proceedings narrowed in on the key question of where rates are headed. Sadly, the answer is up,  by as much as 2%. This was not a major revelation as the Governor had already flagged this view in the Bank’s August monetary policy statement.

Continue reading "When rates go up again, who will Rudd blame then?" »