If the Government was worried about the impact on St George’s share price of a refusal, the decision could’ve been held off until equity markets had settled, writes Bernard Keane.
Australian banks
Local banking industry hardly a thriving free market
The fact that three of the major banks have increased rates over consecutive days simply goes to show that there is little if any real competition between them, writes Adam Schwab.
ANZ does a NAB on rates
The one thing ANZ may have done by choosing not to simply emulate NAB is to reduce the chances of another 25 basis point rise in official rates next month, writes Stephen Bartholomeusz.
NAB’s rate rise testament to banking oligopoly
The NAB’s decision to raise rates proves the argument that the financial sector is a highly regulated oligopoly, which, courtesy of the credit crunch, now faces little, if any competition in home lending, writes Adam Schwab.
Interest will rise as credit freezes over
Forget the election result: it will be great for the winning side. The cold reality on Monday morning will be interest rates and the gradual freezing of credit markets around the world, writes Glenn Dyer.
The Fed bails out the fat and the dodgy. And Wall Street
Excuse me for being cynical, but the US Fed’s 0.50% cut on the button overnight was nothing but a bail out of Wall Street urges, dodgy London and European financiers and fat complacent Australian banks, writes Glenn Dyer.
Foreigners grow, while big four banks stand still
There’s a big picture review of asset trends in banking and financial services in a paper by the Reserve Bank of Australia’s financial stability department published on Tuesday. And it’s not too flattering for Australian banks.
