Posts Tagged ‘Rate’

ANZ Holds Mortgage Lending Rate Steady But Plans Staff Cuts

January 21st, 2012 Travis Brown

Mortgage holders who borrowed from Australian banking major ANZ can breathe a sigh of relief as the lender said it would hold its variable mortgage rate, however employees of the bank are not so lucky as they await news over a possible cut in jobs.

Last week, the Finance Sector Union confirmed that the lender has plans on axing hundreds of positions over the following six moths.

Leanne Shingles, communications officer for the Union, in an interview with news.com.au said that whilst ANZ had indicated there would be a number of job cuts, did not specify exactly how many, or where they would be cutting.

Some reports suggest as many as 1000 jobs would be cut at the lender.

Ms. Shingles said there was “no justification” for lenders cutting back on staff after posting record profits during the previous year.

“Whenever there is a need or a perceived need to cut costs the first thing that employers or industry do is cut jobs. There

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Tags: Rate, Rate Steady

Chief Executives Warn Australian Central Bank Against Further Rate Hikes

July 1st, 2011 Travis Brown

Over the next few months the Australian central bank will tighten interest rates despite concern by executives who run some of the country’s largest companies that the economy faces problems that are not being reflected or accounted for properly, due to the impact of the booming mining sector.

During the Reserve Bank of Australia’s May board meeting, the minutes of which were published on Tuesday, the RBA confirmed it was leaning towards pushing interest rates higher as it seeks to wrest back control of inflation, and harness the future growth of the Australian economy.

The RBA did not indicate the timing of any future interest rate rise, but financial markets are pricing in a rate rise within the next three months, which would take the official cash rate from its current 4.75 per cent to at least 5 per cent.

Such a move will anger chief executives of Australia’s largest companies, who are aggressively lobbying the RBA to maintain rates at their current level, rather than risk further deterioration of consumer sentiment as a result of higher interest rates.

Fairfax chairman Roger Corbett who is also on the RBA board said that the Australian economy outside of the mining sector remained remarkably weak.

“The average Australian could quite rightly ask: ‘How is it we are going through the biggest resources boom in the nation’s history and at the same time I am finding it quite hard to make ends meet?’

“This ongoing debate about the economy, and the obvious implication that if things continue there will be further increases in interest rates, is very sobering for most Australians.”

Mr. Corbett’s warning

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Tags: Australian Central, Australian Central Bank, Central Bank, Rate