Australian interest rates

From ANZ: Principal and interest owner-occupier home lending Variable interest rates for the 80% of owner-occupier borrowers who repay principal and interest on their standard variable home loan remain unchanged at 5.25%pa.

From Chris Joye: The once market-orientated RBA now hopes that the bubble blown by its cheap money policies can be cauterised by getting the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority to re-regulate lending via “macroprudential” constraints on credit creation.

Just a quick note in passing, as global and local bond yields plunge today, for those enamored of global reflation, passing secular stagnation and the BONCANO!

It had to happen, via the AFR: Regulators are preparing to impose a fresh wave of constraints on the banks to slow investor lending growth, crack down on interest-only loans, and force buyers to stump up more equity on purchases as they scramble to manage a rampant property boom.

Macroprudential discussion is going mainstream just in the nick of time.

Here it comes, via the AFR: “There remain pressures that have built up again over the last few months,” Mr Morrison said in Canberra on Monday.

Remember this, from News: RETAIL prices have stayed low for a long time. So suspiciously low that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) started to wonder if something had gone wrong.

Hello Westpac: The bank said it would lift rates on variable rate loans for owner-occupiers with principal and interest payments by 3 basis points and for owner-occupiers with interest-only loans by 8 bps.

Herald Sun terror that is: The cost of borrowing money in offshore markets — a key source of funding for Australian banks — has been increasing steadily for more than six months.

From Morgan Stanley: NAB has repriced home loans more than peers in the past year and its SVRs are now the highest of the majors, with a ~20bp premium on IPL.

The RBA is failing its duel mandate of sustaining price stability and full employment.

From NAB: NAB has today announced a range of changes to its home loan interest rates, including a new special fixed rate for first home buyers – the lowest rate ever offered by NAB – and increases to interest rates for new and existing owner occupier and residential investor borrowers.

Via the AFR:  Property investors who are “materially dependent” on income generated from renting their property face steep increases to interest rates in the coming years, as banks respond to global regulatory changes that will require them to hold higher levels of capital against such loans.

From the Q and A yesterday in following the speech by Assistant Governor Michele Bullock: “We are watching it because investors can be the first ones to get out if things turn down,” she said, warning that a rush for the doors could make a slump “much bigger than it would otherwise be”.

From Michele Bullock Assistant Governor (Financial System): Good morning and thank you to Bloomberg for the invitation to speak this morning.

From Gerard Minack exclusively for MB.

From the real estate Treasurer, Scott Morrison, at Bloomie yesterday: Some quotes: In Australia our prices may be high, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne, but they’re real.

Via the AFR: The federal Treasury has effectively confirmed it has been modelling reductions in the capital gains tax concession for investors, as the government continues to debate internally whether to adopt any change in the budget.

Hello, APRA, anyone at home?

With US yields breaking higher overnight let’s check on the “bondcano”.

Hello, APRA, anyone home?

From Goldman Sachs: Financial imbalances in the Australian economy—in particular, acceleration in prices and speculative activity in the property sector—have intensified, and the RBA’s new Governor has confirmed a shift in the Bank’s reaction function to be both more responsive to these imbalances and less sensitive to low inflation.

From Credit Suisse: Unchanged rates, balanced statement As widely expected, the RBA left the cash rate unchanged at 1.5%.

From Macquarie: Event  As expected, the RBA Board decided to leave rates unchanged at 1.50% following its March meeting (Link to Statement).