jeppy

oz banks can do anything they want is there any reason why interest rates on average are below 4% . uk banks must therefore be burrowing money considerably less than 4% , but oz banks continue to keep ripping off customers either not passing on full rate cuts or raising rates on their own accord, saying its costing them more to loan money , i suggest they loan their money form t6he same place as uk banks.
Talk about the hype with the mining tax cos bhp and rio are making 4 billion a year profit ! what about introducing a banking tax as they make upwards of 5 billion a year and dont even make a or export a product , anz recently announced 1.48billion quarterly profits and are about to lay off 900 staff lost revenue to the country 5 million bucks and how much do we pay out in unemployment benefit to these people about time the government put a stop to this thievery

commonwealth

i think it's better to capitalise them in market terms instead of bailing them out later using taxpayers money. after all, australian banks areamong the safest in the world.

besides if interest rates are too low, bubbles can grow and depositors who save and live within their means suffer.

interest rates exist for a reason. they help instill financial discipline and prudence. we don't want a bubble-fuelled economy greenspan-style.

of course comparing uk and au banks is like apples and oranges. for one, au banks dont borrow in pounds which has depreciated in value.

Wol

Very good point. For every borrower there are several lenders - depositors - many of whom rely on the income from the interest. It makes no sense to encourage excessive borrowing only to inflate house prices further, and to discourage deposits.

isgraham

You have a bubble economy already. Australia's balance of payments is negative so as a country you are living on borrowed time. Your banks were bailed out via subsidies to the housing sector and the $1 million bank account guarantee.

Honestly the fund management company I work for has a very dim view of Australian banks the only reason for buying into their bonds is that they are backed by the Australian government.

With falling house prices and rising unemployment the Aussie banks are going to look worse and worse over time. Why do you think they have been downgraded recently? Because they are financially stable!

There is no arguing that British banking is buggered that's why they are increasing their svr's as well cost of funding going up etc.

harrip

In some situations they do. But bear in mind, if Australian Banks borrow from the UK they then face exchange rate risk. It is this exchange risk, which when protected against takes the interest rates back to where they are.

commonwealth

yes, that's why the AUD has been going up??? countries with BoP problems tend to devalue their currencies to reach a balance.


it's minimally "subsidised"; besides, the interest rates are higher than most if not all developed countries and the government is milking the banks in terms of tax on bank earnings (which in essence are indirectly paid by borrowers to the government).

the $1m "guarantee" was a knee-jerk reaction to the contagion coming from the world's global financial bubble centres of new york and london. besides, the banks pay a fee for the guarantee, it's not free.


no basis to say they are "backed" by the government on an absolute basis. the guarantee is very limited.


most of the banks were downgraded, not just the aussie ones. mainly because of funding risks created by the P.I.I.G.S. -- which borrowed money recklessly using the euro at low interest rates.

besides, the aussie regulators are not sittiing on their hands. aussie banks are among the first in the world capable of implementing the strict Basel III requirements.

as well, the reserve bank is has the monetary policy firepower (i.e. interest rate) to react to negative pressures in the economy. however in past two months the RBA found it prudent to not change the cash rate.

thankfully, aussies are saving more and more money (highest savings rates in decades) and not recklessly borrowing money or spending on stuff. http://www.news.com.au/money/money-m...-1226097191386 there are pros and cons but i'd rather see a prudent economic growth than a borrowed/inflated economic growth based on low interest rates.


apparently that's the opposite of what the Bank of England wants to happen.

= = =

in fine, there is NO safe banks in the world. But there are the safer ones.
http://www.gfmag.com/tools/best-bank...pril-2012.html

Pennines49

I hear all the moans about OZ banks and agree with them.
However, theyr'e greed and mismangement didn't cause the GFS"C the Yanks and the poms did

DC10

Banks in both countries offer mortgage rates which are 3-4% (actually a bit more than that in the UK) above their respective central bank standard cash rates. Simples.

The personal loan rates in Aus do seem extraordinary, I'll grant you that.

And it is odd that banker redundancies still raise the ire of media and the wider public in Aus. It sure doesn't get that reaction in Blighty.

Kiwipaul

Problem with Oz is that most of it's exports are resourses and they are generally priced in $US so devalueing the Oz$ dosn't achive anything because the resourse costs the same.

commonwealth

Personally I wish that was true but no, it is not. It's only minimally "subsidised", if any.

On the other hand:

£500,000 home loans backed by the taxpayer
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/...-launched.html

commonwealth

devaluing the AUD will result in more AUDs coming from each USD being sold. it could also mean the exporters can negotiate a lower USD prices for their products because the

However, the AUD is appreciating because of billions of dollars in real (i.e. non-financial) investments coming into the resources sector, as well as the increase in foreign central banks and sovereign funds in high quality Australian bonds and securities.

Fortunately, Australia is not the Financial Electronic Parking Lot of the World a.k.a. Global Financial Centre.

sassie

4%? - I'm getting 5.00% and 5.7% on my two accounts.

DC10

Incidentally, has anyone noticed that Aus banks consider personal overdrafts to be some sort of extreme risk/stone age practice? I tried to explain to the lady at the NAB that most UK accounts have some sort of overdraft built into the "package", she just stared at me with skepticism

phat-dave

because it is? in any case it's unsecured and i'd suggest that is main cause of their reluctance. banks would much prefer to sell you into a small credit card (and therefore their lending criteria applies) than provide you with other unsecured products.

commonwealth

And what makes you think Oz banks should follow prudent British banking services?