Finance and Development; Mortgage Broker
Task 1 – Case Study
As part of managing your professional development and maintaining currency, you read many industry articles. You received this following article from Industry Media and decided it might be a good one for the other finance brokers (authorised credit representatives) of DNZ, in order to understand the industry better.
The historic low interest rate of 1.5% which remained the same after nearly two years, is expected to increase “at some point,” according to Philip Lowe, Governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Economist Warwick McKibbin concurred stating that this has been shown by the local economic and political climate. The increase is predicted even in global standards as an effect of the rise of climate change policies, digital disruption, and the overall changing global economy.
Due to low inflation, lack of growth in wages, and job insecurity – the present interest rate has failed to catch up with the global interest rates. These in turn mean that household spending is not enough to push the economy forward.
While the RBA is able to influence most interest rates in the economy, and in turn manipulate the demand for borrowing, the banks are assumed to pass the cost on to borrowers. The banks endeavour to shoulder the costs of borrowing funds within their business before passing it on to borrowers via loan repayments.
As the RBA and banks determine the cash rate and interest rates, they do not solely govern the behaviour of the financial services industry.
While this is so, there is the call to prepare for the rate hikes. It is best for borrowers to sort out their finances ahead of time and be mindful of the industry’s climate, so that they are aware of interest rate movements. If it is possible, park spare cash in an offset account or use it for paying down the loan.
News article resources can be found at the following websites (which were correct at the time of this publication):
· https://www.afr.com/news/economy/monetary-policy/prepare-australians-for-rate-hikes-now-mckibbin-tells-rba-20180622-h11qcy (subscription-based)
· http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-07-03/very-high-chance-of-an-interest-rate-rise-next-month/9935456
· https://www.realestate.com.au/advice/how-to-survive-an-interest-rate-hike/
Case Study questions:
1. You have asked the finance brokers (ACR’s) in the DNZ business to consider the article above which will also help them to better explain to their clients and referrers about external impacts that may affect borrowing. Referring to the article above and the AAMC Training learner guide, identify a minimum of three external forces that could influence the move in interest rates and that also dictate the economic and political climate in relation to the financial services industry.
2. What are the two financial services sectors that are involved in influencing interest rate movements and how do they interrelate?