RBA takes pause, holds cash rate at 4.5%
June 8, 2010
Reserve Bank of Australia has decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.5 per cent. Since the Board last met, concerns about sovereign creditworthiness in several European countries have been a focus of financial markets. Investors have generally displayed... Read more »
Interest rates continue to rise
May 4, 2010
Australian mortgage holders are a third time unlucky this year, after the Reserve Bank board today lifted interest rates by 0.25 per cent. It is the third rate rise in as many months. Mortgage holders will be disappointed with the increase. After being told by... Read more »
RBA lifts interest rate to 4.25%
April 6, 2010
Australian mortgage holders will have to dig deeper for their repayments after the Reserve Bank board decided today to lift interest rates by 0.25 per cent. The increase will be of little surprise to mortgage holders, who have been bracing themselves for a higher... Read more »
RBA takes pause, holds cash rate at 3.75%
February 2, 2010
At its monthly Board meeting today, the Reserve Bank of Australia shocked most analysts with a decision to leave the cash rate unchanged at 3.75 per cent. While the move came as a surprise to many, there was enough indifferent data in the past fortnight to provide... Read more »
Commercial, personal finance numbers strong
January 13, 2010
Commercial and personal financing rose in the month November, offsetting weakness in housing loans. Commercial financing increased four per cent to $26.677 billion, while personal finance was up 1.1 per cent to $7.053 billion. The two rises contrasted with a three... Read more »
Housing finance data weakens as first home buyer numbers wane
January 12, 2010
The number of dwelling commitments fell more than expected in November, according to official data, with the number of loans down 5.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis. The value of loans, however, only fell 1.6 per cent. The soft result was forecast by analysts... Read more »
RBA may ease up on rate hikes
December 22, 2009
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is now seen as less likely to hike early next year thanks to a moderate GDP figure and rate rises above the official move by some of the major banks. Australia’s central bank released the minutes of their December Board... Read more »
RHG at risk of default
December 21, 2009
The RHG Group - the remnants of the Rams Home Loans Group that was sold to Westpac in 2007* - is involved in a number of court actions with one of its funders which could see them default on around half of its funding portfolio. The current balance of the facility... Read more »
Mortgage industry in position to grow, non-banks to make a comeback: Deloitte
December 21, 2009
The annual Deloitte Australian Mortgage Report: 2010 positioning for opportunity has revealed strong growth prospects for the mortgage sector in 2010. The researchers noted that the industry had systemically changed in Australia, but saw numerous opportunities... Read more »
Home lending softer but better than expected
December 9, 2009
Home lending moderated in the month of October, with the value of home loans falling 1.4 per cent on seasonally adjusted terms. The ABS figures were slightly better than expected given the headwinds of higher interest rates and reduced stimulus measures. Analysts... Read more »