LATER today, the Reserve Bank is widely expected to hand down a 0.5 per cent cut in interest rates, the biggest cut in more than seven years.
Our banks have come under enormous pressure from the public, but not the Federal Government, to pass the entire cut on to struggling home owners who have also had to balance rising fuel costs, rising inflation and rising just about everything else in recent times.
The banks have been quick to douse any suggestion that they will pass on the entire cut, a move many believe to be unfair, unjust and unsporting.
No one denies that it has been costing banks more to access cash as the global credit crunch squeezes financial markets around the world, but in Australia this has made but a small dint in the massive profits our banks have enjoyed.
The strength of our economy, our well regulated financial system and our strong banking sector have all contributed to the good times our banks have enjoyed year after year.
Householders on the other hand, have no one to pass their cost pressures onto - they either go without something or slide further into debt as costs and rates rise.
Those charged with the responsibility for setting their bank’s interest rates have a difficult decision to make - do they look to shore up the bank’s bottom line by clawing back savings that would otherwise go to customers, or do they pass on the cut and absorb more pain on the balance sheet?
What do you think?
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