It's usually bad things that come in threes.
Combine yesterday's decision by the Reserve Bank to cut 25 basis points from the official cash rate with APRA's plan to remove the mortgage serviceability buffer and the incoming First home buyers deposit scheme, and you can understand why the likes of Australia's largest listed developer, Stockland and listed mortgage broker, Mortgage Choice are enjoying their breakfast this morning.
CoreLogic's Tim Lawless has pointed out that RBA rate cuts alone will not a property party make. But that hasn't stopped major industry figures including McGrath and AMP Capital from publicly rubbing their hands together in anticipation of an early spring today.
Every great story needs a villain however, and today it's the banks - specifically, ANZ and Westpac who have flown in the face of popular and political sentiment by choosing not to pass on the entire cut. Even RBA Governor Philip Lowe had a go at the news ANZ would only pass on .18 per cent and Westpac .20 per cent of the cut, saying lower bank funding costs mean the cuts must be passed on in full.
This won't be the end of it either; addressing a business dinner in Sydney last night, Dr Lowe said the RBA is forecasting for at least one more cut before the end of the year.
Fitch reckons a return to an easy credit environment will make Australia’s debt-to-income ratio worse. Today's Nine newspapers have a number of editorials and columns saying why this cut, which brings the official cash rate to its lowest in 60 years, is a bad move - that our economy is stronger and better than that. You have to love any story that leads with a reference to Jaws as an allusion to the RBA's ability to make a difference if all things economic get really bad: "you're going to need a bigger boat."
While Dr Lowe and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg are aligned in their message to the banks, yesterday's cut puts the newly-returned federal government squarely in the spotlight. The message from Dr Lowe to JoFry is now we've done our bit, you need to spend less time worrying about the surplus and more time fulfilling your mandated role of stimulating the economy.
I got some money in my pocket, I got the car keys in my hand
ABC News Online has provided a helpful guide today on how much people will save as a result of who they bank with, and the size of their mortgage.
The papers are awash today with positive comments from a whole range of CEOs and businesses hoping this new-found cash will find its way into cash registers. Just in time, too; yesterday's release of ABS figures on retail sales showed continue slides in April; National Retail Association chief executive Dominique Lamb is calling on the government today to speed up its new tax measures.
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