The Commonwealth government will introduce a "responsible lending test" to the consumer credit code next year according to sources. Under the new rules, lenders.....
Economists at the ANZ Bank are now tipping the Reserve Bank will increase rates twice more this year which would take the standard variable rate at the major banks to 9.97 per cent. The forecast comes amidst signs that growth in the global economy continues to surge despite financial turmoil in the US. The ANZ now expects that inflation will hit a peak of 5 per cent some time this year. Only two weeks ago credit markets had put the chance of a rate cut in the next year at 80 per cent, now pricing suggests the same probability of a rate rise.
