SYDNEY: Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. failed to pass on in full the central bank’s quarter-point cut in official interest rates, receiving an immediate rebuke from Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. "I have made it very clear to the banks that the public have legitimate expectations that they will see the full benefit of rate cuts such as those announced by the RBA today,” Frydenberg said. "I think there’s an element of social responsibility” for banks to pass on the rate cut in full given the state of the housing market, said Kerry Craig, global market strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management in Melbourne. "But then you worry about the banks’ interest margins and their profitability.”The move to hold on to some of the rate cut may also mute the benefit to the property market, which is starting to show signs of emerging from a near two-year slump. Australia housing values have fallen 8.2% since peaking in September 2017, according to CoreLogic Inc., led by steep declines in Sydney and Melbourne.

Source: The Star June 04, 2019 06:21 UTC