Category Archives: ANZ

Reserve Bank expected to leave interest rate untouched for seventh meeting in a row

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Economic activity was ‘a little bit softer’ than central bank had predicted, one expert notes, but a rate cut still seems unlikely

How soon the Reserve Bank might cut interest rates will be the focus for borrowers and economists alike when the central bank wraps up its latest meeting on Tuesday.

Governor Michele Bullock is expected to keep the RBA’s key rate unchanged for a seventh meeting in a row, according to a survey of 45 economists by Reuters. The bank lifted the rate 13 times between May 2022 and last November.

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Australia’s banks likely to reduce lending to regions and sectors at risk of climate change impacts, regulator says

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Apra finds country’s banks may be more vulnerable to economic downturns as they face threefold increase in lending losses

Banks expect to reduce lending to households and businesses in northern Australia and to fossil fuel industries across the country as the risk of losses due to the climate crisis escalates, the industry regulator says.

A new report by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (Apra) found climate change could make banks more vulnerable to economic downturns as they face up to a threefold increase in lending losses by 2050, but that the system should be able to absorb the impact.

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