Tag: RBA

Managing Two Transitions

Philip Lowe, RBA Deputy Governor spoke at the Corporate Finance Forum and spoke about two transitions.

The first is a domestic one – that is, the transition in the Australian economy following a period of extraordinarily strong growth in investment in the resources sector combined with record high commodity prices.

The second is a much more international one – and that is what seems to be a transition to a world in which global interest rates are lower, at least for an extended period, than we had previously become used to.

He explored the impact of low rates:

The first is the challenge that low interest rates pose to anyone who is seeking to fund future liabilities. Low interest rates mean that the present discounted value of these liabilities is higher than it once was. In turn, this means that more assets are needed to cover these liabilities. For anyone managing a long-tail insurance business or a defined benefit pension scheme, this is a major challenge. It is also a challenge for retirees and those planning for retirement.

The second issue is the effect of low interest rates on asset prices. Just as low interest rates increase the value of future liabilities, they increase the value of a given stream of future revenue from any asset. The result is higher asset prices. Another way of looking at this is that faced with low returns on risk-free assets, investors have sought other assets, and in so doing they have pushed up the prices of these assets. A good example of this is commercial property, where investors have been attracted by the relatively high yields, pushing prices up even though rents are declining.

Graph 10: Prime office capital values and rents
A rise in asset prices is, of course, part of the monetary transmission mechanism. But developments here need to be watched very carefully. History is littered with examples of unsustainable asset price rises emerging on the back of perfectly justifiable increases in prices. In a number of cases, this has ended badly, especially if there is leverage involved. Also, we should not lose sight of the fact that interest rates and the returns generated from assets are ultimately linked to one another. So, interest rates may be structurally lower in part because the stream of future income generated from assets is also lower than in the past. This would have obvious implications for the sustainable level of many asset prices.

The third issue is the effect of low interest rates on firms’ investment decisions and hurdle rates of return. In today’s environment, it seems that many investors have, reluctantly, come to accept that they will earn lower yields on their existing assets. An open question though is whether the same acceptance of lower returns is flowing through to firms’ decisions about the creation of new assets – that is, their own investment plans.

The international evidence is that the hurdle rates of return that firms use for new investment are quite sticky and that they are not very responsive to movements in interest rates. There is less evidence of this issue in Australia, but a recent survey of CFOs by Deloitte hints at the same conclusion. The survey results suggest that hurdle rates of return on new investment are typically above 10 per cent and sometimes considerably so. The results also suggest that the average margin between the hurdle rate of return and the weighted-average cost of capital is about 3 percentage points. As part of the survey, firms were also asked how often they changed the hurdle rate, with the most frequent answer being ‘very rarely’. These findings are very similar to those reached through the Bank’s own extensive business liaison program.

Graph 11: Hurdle rates

 

Credit Losses At Australian Banks Are All About Lending Standards – RBA

A very timely paper from David Rodgers at the Economic Research Department RBA. An analysis of credit losses in the banking system highlights the importance of lending standards, and that although up to now higher risks lay in the business sector, lending standards in the household sector, especially with the concentration on housing lending,  are critically important (and we would add in the light of current household debt ratios, see the earlier post). A rise in unemployment on par with that in the early 1990s could be expected to have a more severe influence on household credit losses, given the large rise in household indebtedness over the intervening period. A corollary of this rise in household indebtedness is the greater share of banks’ lending now made up by housing and personal lending. These considerations suggest that any weakening in lending standards in these areas could have a larger systemic impact than in the past.

Credit risk – the risk that borrowers will not repay their loans – is one of the main risks that financial intermediaries (such as banks) face. Credit risk has been the underlying driver of most systemic banking crises in advanced economies over recent decades. As credit risk materialises and borrowers fail to make repayments, banks are forced to recognise the reduction in current and future cash inflows this represents. These ‘credit losses’ reduce a bank’s profitability and can affect capital. In extreme cases, credit losses can be large enough to reduce a bank’s capital ratio below regulatory requirements or minimum levels at which other private sector entities are willing to deal with a bank, so can cause banks to fail.

This paper explores the historical credit loss experience of the Australian banking system. It does so using a newly compiled dataset covering the bank-level credit losses of larger Australian banks over 1980 to 2013. Portfolio-level credit loss data – data that break losses down by type of lending (e.g. business, housing and personal lending) – are available for a broad range of banks only from 2008 onwards, so this paper mainly uses total loan portfolio data. This paper provides the first narrative account of banking system credit losses in Australia that includes both the early 1990s and global financial crisis episodes.

Credit losses in Australian banking in the post-deregulation period have been concentrated in two episodes: the very large losses around the early 1990s recession and the smaller losses during and after the global financial crisis. They have a close temporal relationship with the economic cycle, peaking close to troughs in GDP during downturns. A narrative account attributes the key roles indriving credit losses to business sector conditions such as business indebtedness and commercial property prices. The available data on portfolio-level losses indicate that elevated losses during these downturns stemmed from banks’ lending to businesses, rather than their lending to households. Data available from 2008 onwards indicate losses on housing loans barely rose (from very low levels) during the global financial crisis, even though housing prices and employment fell noticeably in some geographical areas.One of the main contributions of this paper is an econometric panel-data model that properly controls for bank-level portfolio composition. This model indicates business sector conditions, rather than household sector conditions, have been the driver of domestic credit losses over the period studied. The relevant business sector conditions – interest burden, profitability and commercial property prices – are indicators of the ability of this sector to service its debts and of the value of the collateral behind these debts. As a corollary, the model indicates that most losses over the past three decades were incurred on banks’ business lending, and household losses were largely unresponsive to economic conditions in that period. Unlike past work, these results are consistent with the narrative account of credit losses in Australian banking.

Descriptive accounts attribute the scale of losses during the early 1990s to poor lending standards, and the data support this. One piece of evidence, based on quantile regressions, indicates that changes in macro-level conditions have had very different impacts upon banks with similar portfolios (in terms of the shares of business, housing and personal lending). Most compellingly, standard models cannot explain the extremely high credit losses experienced at some state government-owned banks in the early 1990s. Given the anecdotal evidence that these banks had below-average lending standards, this is consistent with the conclusion that poor lending standards have caused the very worst credit loss outcomes over recent decades.

These conclusions have practical implications for stress testing. The credit loss models in this paper that use least squares estimation, and include bank-level variables, are unable to explain, and so unlikely to predict, the very worst credit loss outcomes. Many stress-testing exercises use similar (and in some cases simpler) econometric models (see, for example, IMF (2012)). As the worst credit loss outcomes are the most relevant when stress testing, this suggests that alternative models are needed. Covas, Rump and Zakrajsek (2013) show that a type of quantile regression (quite different to that in this paper) can provide out-of sample forecasts that encompass the credit losses experienced by the US banking system during the global financial crisis. In an Australian context, Durrani, Peat and Arnold (2014) show that allowing variation in credit risk outcomes across banks, rather than applying the same average risk parameters to all banks, can lead to significantly larger loss estimates. Stress-testing models could also be improved by incorporating better data on lending standards. The Federal Reserve collects and makes use of loan-level data on borrower characteristics in its annual stress tests of the largest US banks (Board of Governors 2014). This captures some aspects of the risk profile of borrowers; more work is probably needed to make it possible to systemise and accurately record banks’ lending standards.

The historical experience of credit losses at Australian banks this paper describes should help to guide overall understanding of the credit risk they currently face. It supports a continued focus on the analysis of the financial health of the business sector (one output of this work is a chapter of the Reserve Bank’s semiannual Financial Stability Review). As another example, credit loss measures appear to peak before asset performance measures, potentially providing an early signal of future improvement in financial system stability.

The lack of a historical relationship between household sector conditions and credit losses should be used cautiously in contemporary debates on the riskiness of housing lending. It indicates that the macroeconomic shocks experienced by the household sector during the past three decades have been small relative to the lending standards in place for housing lending over this period. Future macroeconomic shocks may, however, have a larger impact on households. There have been, for example, no large nationwide falls in house prices during recent decades. In addition, a rise in unemployment on par with that in the early 1990s could be expected to have a more severe influence on household credit losses, given the large rise in household indebtedness over the intervening period. A corollary of this rise in household indebtedness is the greater share of banks’ lending now made up by housing and personal lending. These considerations suggest that any weakening in lending standards in these areas could have a larger systemic impact than in the past.

Australian Mortgage Holders Sensitive to Interest Rate Movements – CoreLogic RP Data

An article by Cameron Kusher, CoreLogic RP Data senior research analyst highlights that according to data from the Reserve Bank the ratio of household debt to disposable income is 153.8% and the ratio of housing deb to disposable income is 140.3% both of which are record highs.

Each quarter the Reserve Bank (RBA) publishes selected household finance ratios which show some key statistics about the level of debt held by Australian households. Although Australia has relatively low levels of public debt, private debt is extremely high and unlike many other countries there hasn’t been a decline in that debt in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

The latest household finances data from the RBA shows that in December 2014, the ratio of household debt to disposable income was 153.8%, its highest level on record. Housing debt accounts for 91% of total household debt and is recorded at a record high ratio of 140.3%. The chart shows that the level of debt has been relatively unchanged since 2005 but is now heading higher.

Focussing on the housing component of this debt, of the 140.3% ratio, 92.2% of that figure was owner occupier housing and 48.0% was investor housing. Once again, both are currently at record high levels. As with total housing debt, both had been relatively unchanged over recent years but have lifted over the past couple of years. It is important to note that the gap between owner occupier debt and investor debt is at near record high levels too.

Although household debt is high, the value of household assets is much higher than the debt. According to the data from the RBA the ratio of household assets to disposable income is 813.8%, much higher than the ratio of household debt at 153.8%. From the housing perspective, the ratio of housing assets to disposable income is recorded at 444.0% compared to a ratio of 140.3% for housing debt to household income. The chart shows that the ratio for both household and housing assets had been higher before the financial crisis however, both are now clearly trending higher again.

The data also shows that the ratio of household debt to household assets is 16.7% while the ratio of housing debt to housing assets is 28%. This highlights that although household and housing debts are high, the value of those assets is substantially higher than the level of debt. While this may be true at a national level it doesn’t mean that everyone is immune from the effects of an economic and/or housing market downturn.

Although these figures would provide some comfort that most households have the ability to sell assets to repay debt if they hit trouble, it is important to remember that it is a national view. There are areas of the country where households are much more susceptible to housing and economic downturns. Some specific areas and household types are recent first home purchasers, areas where there has been very little home value growth in recent years, single industry townships and areas where households have re-drawn a large proportion of their home’s equity.

With regards to the recent increases in household and housing debt, obviously very low interest rates (which have just got lower) are encouraging increased borrowing, particularly for housing. On the other hand, saving is not attractive because there is virtually no returns available. While most households can comfortably meet their mortgage requirements with mortgage rates at these levels, it is important to remember that a mortgage is usually a 25 to 30 year commitment and mortgage rates can fluctuate significantly over that time. The fact that household debt levels merely flat-lined rather than reduced following the financial crisis creates some concerns about what will happen once mortgage rates start to normalise (whenever that may be). Furthermore, the rate cut delivered this week may encourage even further leveraging into the housing market.

These are of course average figures across all household. However, as we have shown already, if you segment the household base, you discover that household debt is concentrated in different segments. Some are well able to cover the debts they owe, even if rates were to rise, but others are, even in the current low rate environment close to the edge, and with incomes static, vulnerable even to small rises in interest rate.

RBA Statement on Monetary Policy Lowers Growth

The RBA released their statement on monetary policy May 2015, today. In it there is no signal about future interest rate movements, but growth forecasts were lowered, to 2% in June 2015. Beyond that, the economy is now expected to grow to 3.25% in the year ended December 2016 (previously 4%). They expect unemployment to rise further to a peak of 6.5%. Inflation is expected to rise later in 2015, a little, but still within the target band. In an investigation into the cycle of dwelling investment, they find that on balance, strength in dwelling investment is likely to be sustained, supported by low interest rates and relatively strong population growth. However, difficulties in obtaining the necessary production inputs, especially suitable land with development approval in some parts of the country, are likely to limit the extent of any further pick-up in dwelling investment growth above what is currently expected.

Growth of Australia’s major trading partners was around its long-run average in 2014. It appears to have eased slightly in the early months of 2015. Commodity prices have been quite volatile over recent months, notably iron ore and oil prices, which have rebounded somewhat from recent lows. Even so, prices of Australia’s key commodity exports overall have declined since the beginning of 2015 and are well down on levels of a year ago. In large part, the declines reflect growth in the supply of commodities globally, although an easing of growth in China’s demand for some key commodities has also played a role. While there has been a further fall in Australia’s terms of trade, the Australian dollar has appreciated by around 3 per cent against the US dollar and in trade-weighted terms since the previous Statement. In China, economic growth has eased further. The Chinese property market remains a source of weakness in the economy and this is flowing through to weaker demand for steel and other construction related products. Indicators for Japanese economic activity have been somewhat mixed early this year, though labour market conditions remain tight and there are tentative signs that wage growth will rise, which is expected to underpin a pick-up in domestic price pressures. Economic growth in the rest of east. Asia looks to have slowed a little in the March quarter.

Growth in the US economy moderated in the March quarter, largely reflecting the temporary effects of disruptions related to severe weather and industrial action in west coast ports. Meanwhile, the US labour market has continued to improve and wage growth has picked up. Economic activity in the euro area is recovering at a gradual pace.

Despite slightly weaker-than-expected conditions early in 2015, growth of Australia’s major trading partners is expected to remain around its long-run average pace in 2015 and 2016. Growth will continue to be supported by very stimulatory monetary policies in most parts of the world. Core inflation rates are below many central banks’ targets. The Federal Open Market Committee is not expected to start increasing the US policy rate until the second half of 2015, while the People’s Bank of China has recently taken steps to boost liquidity and has adopted a more accommodative monetary policy stance more generally. The European Central Bank and the Bank of Japan continue to expand their balance sheets in line with their previously announced policies. Accordingly, finance remains readily available amid very favourable pricing conditions, notwithstanding the sharp rise in sovereign yields in recent days. Also, the low oil price is providing support to Australia’s trading partners, most of which are net oil importers.

The available data suggest that the domestic economy continued to grow at a below-trend pace in the March quarter. Dwelling investment and resource exports appear to have continued growing strongly and there is evidence that the growth of household consumption has been gaining some momentum over the past six months or so. However, investment in the mining sector is declining noticeably and non-mining business investment remains subdued.  Moreover, indicators of nonmining business investment intentions suggest that a significant pick-up is not in prospect over the next year or so.

Conditions in the established housing market remain strong, especially in Sydney and to a lesser extent in Melbourne. Outside these cities, however, housing price growth has declined. Forward-looking indicators, including building approvals, suggest that dwelling investment overall will continue to grow strongly over coming quarters. Housing credit growth has been little changed at a pace that is around the long-term growth of household income. Growth of housing credit for investors remains close to 10 per cent on an annual basis, with no sign of growth either increasing or decreasing in the period ahead. Very low interest rates and increasing housing prices helped to support a pick-up in the growth of household consumption over 2014. More recent retail sales data suggest that consumption growth maintained its pace into the early months of 2015. Measures of consumer sentiment remain a little below average.

Export volumes continue to increase, aided in the March quarter by the absence of substantial weather-related disruptions to mining and shipping operations across the country. Resource export volumes are expected to continue growing as new production capacity for iron ore and liquefied natural gas comes on line over 2015. However, the decline in commodity prices in recent quarters has put pressure on higher-cost producers in the iron ore and coal sectors. While the substantial declines recorded in mining investment have been much as expected, producers have responded to lower  commodity prices with further cost-cutting. Some smaller, higher-cost producers of iron ore and coal in Australia have announced the curtailment of production, although the affected mines accounted for only a relatively small share of Australian production in 2014.

Non-mining business investment has remained subdued even though many of the conditions for a recovery have been in place for some time. Access to funding does not appear to be constraining business decisions; lending rates on the outstanding stock of business (and housing) loans have continued to edge lower and business credit growth has been picking up. Also, surveys suggest that business conditions in the non-mining sector are close to average. However, forward-looking measures of business confidence remain a bit below average and non-residential building approvals are relatively subdued. Business liaison suggests that firms have spare capacity and are still waiting to see a more substantial improvement in demand conditions before they commit to major new investment projects. In line with that, surveys of investment intentions do not indicate that there will be much of a pick-up in non-mining capital investment over the next year or so.

There continues to be excess capacity in the labour market, though the most recent labour force data suggest that employment growth has increased over the past six months or more, to be above the rate of population growth. The participation rate has picked up slightly, and the unemployment rate has been stable at about 6¼ per cent since mid 2014. Forward-looking indicators of labour demand, which had picked up somewhat over the past year, have been little changed over recent months and point to modest growth of employment over coming months.

Consumer price inflation declined over the past year, reflecting substantial falls in fuel prices and the repeal of the carbon price, although the recent rebound in fuel prices should add to headline inflation somewhat in the near term. Measures of underlying inflation remained around ½–¾ per cent in the March quarter and 2¼–2½ per cent over the past year. Domestic cost pressures are generally well contained, partly because of the extended period of low growth of wages, with the result that non-tradables inflation was about 1 percentage point below its decade average over the year to March. Consumer prices related to housing increased by marginally more than their historical average, driven by inflation in new dwelling costs, which in turn reflects the strength of dwelling investment. Tradables inflation (excluding volatile items and tobacco) has picked up in response to the depreciation of the Australian dollar over the past two years or so.

Growth in the Australian economy is expected to continue at a below-average pace for a little longer than earlier anticipated and to pick up gradually to an above-average pace over 2016/17. The key forces shaping the outlook are much as they have been for some time. Recent data suggest that consumption growth has continued to pick up gradually, supported by very low interest rates and relatively strong population growth. Forwardlooking indicators continue to suggest that dwelling investment will continue to grow strongly in the near term. The momentum building in household demand will, in time, provide some impetus to nonmining business investment, even though indicators of investment intentions suggest that non-mining business investment is not likely to pick up over coming quarters, as had been expected at the time of the February Statement. Export growth is also expected to continue making a substantial contribution to GDP growth. Mining investment, fiscal consolidation and the falling terms of trade are expected to impart an offsetting restraint on growth over the next couple of years at least. The profile for GDP growth implies that there will be excess capacity in the labour market for longer than previously thought. The unemployment rate is expected to rise gradually and peak a little later than envisaged in the February Statement, before gradually declining towards the end of the forecast period. Wage growth is not expected to increase much from its current low levels over the next two years or so. As a result, domestic labour cost pressures are likely to remain well contained and underlying inflation is expected to be consistent with the inflation target throughout the forecast period.

The risks to the outlook for the global economy appear roughly balanced, other than for China where risks remain tilted to the downside. Weakness in the Chinese property market and constraints on the ability of local governments to fund infrastructure projects continue to represent key sources of uncertainty for China’s economic growth and its demand for commodities. Any significant change in the demand for steel in China would affect the prices of iron ore and coking coal. Also, if high cost producers of iron ore in China were to curtail production significantly, this would place upward pressure on prices.  Developments in China and their impact on commodity prices are also likely to affect the outlook for the exchange rate, which is another important consideration for the forecasts for the domestic economy. Further depreciation of the exchange rate seems both likely and necessary, particularly given the significant declines in key commodity prices, although increasingly divergent monetary policies in the major economies are also likely to have an important bearing on exchange rate developments.

Domestically, the forecasts embody a further gradual pick-up in consumption growth and decline in the saving ratio. However, if households respond to changes in interest rates and asset prices to the same degree as they did prior to the global financial crisis, this would support higher consumption growth and imply a lower saving ratio than embodied in the forecasts. Alternatively, if households are less inclined to bring forward their consumption than has been factored into the forecasts, perhaps because they do not wish to increase their leverage, consumption growth would be weaker and the saving ratio higher than forecast.

Business investment remains a significant source of uncertainty. Mining investment is expected to fall significantly, but the size of the fall and the impact of lower-than-expected commodity prices remain uncertain. There are also significant risks to the forecasts for non-mining investment. While the latest capital expenditure survey implies a weaker profile for non-mining business investment over the next year than currently forecast, the first estimate of investment intentions for 2015/16 is subject to considerable uncertainty and the survey covers only about half of actual non-mining business investment. Moreover, many of the preconditions for a recovery in non-mining business investment are in place, so it is possible that the recovery could begin earlier or be stronger than currently forecast. The adjustment to the decline in the terms of trade and mining investment over recent years has resulted in a rise in the  unemployment rate and a pronounced decline in wage growth in the economy. The unemployment rate is expected to rise a little further from here, before it begins to decline. It is possible that employment growth will be stronger than expected and the unemployment rate will not increase to the extent anticipated, although this could probably only be achieved with ongoing moderation in wage growth.

The Reserve Bank Board reduced the cash rate by 25 basis points at its February meeting. At its March and April meetings, the Board kept the cash rate steady, but indicated that further easing may be appropriate. Over that period, incoming data have generally provided more confidence that growth in household expenditure is gaining some momentum, consistent with the forecasts presented in the February Statement. However, other information, including the forward-looking indicators of investment, suggested that overall growth will remain below trend for longer than had previously been expected. Accordingly, the economy is likely to be operating with a degree of spare capacity for some time yet and domestic cost pressures are expected to remain subdued and inflation well contained. The Board noted that although financial conditions are very accommodative, the exchange rate continues to offer less assistance than would normally be expected in achieving balanced growth in the economy. It also noted that while housing price growth is very strong in Sydney, it has declined across much of the rest of the country, and there has been little change to the growth of housing credit in recent months. The Bank is working with other regulators to assess and contain risks that may arise from the housing market.

At its May meeting the Board judged that, under these circumstances, it was appropriate to reduce the cash rate by a further 25 basis points to provide some additional support to economic activity. This could be expected to reinforce recent encouraging trends in household demand and is consistent with achieving the inflation target. The Board will continue to assess the outlook and adjust policy as needed to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation outcomes consistent with the inflation target over time.

RBA Rate Cut Increases Need for Greater Macro-Prudential Response – Fitch

Fitch Ratings says the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) recent interest rate cut is likely to lead to a strengthened macro-prudential response from the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority (APRA) for the Australian banking system, although implementation will probably remain targeted and occur on a bank-by-bank basis.

Today’s rate cut is likely to further fuel the Australian property market, particularly in Sydney, at a time when the authorities are trying to take the steam out of the market. Macro-prudential tools allow the regulator to influence banks’ risk appetite, preserving asset quality and limiting potential losses in the event of an economic shock. The Australian banking system benefits from strong loss absorption capacity given the banks’ sound profit generation and provision levels, as well as adequate capitalisation. These strengths could be undermined by further increases in property prices and household debt, given mortgages form the largest asset class for Australian banks.

APRA has targeted certain higher risk areas such as investor mortgages, indicating growth in excess of 10% per annum would trigger closer regulatory monitoring and may lead to tougher capital requirements. In addition, APRA could use a set of other macro-prudential tools which may include a combination of debt-servicing requirements, additional capital requirements and/or loan-to-value ratio (LVR) restrictions, depending on each lender. Given the existence of lenders’ mortgage insurance (LMI), which mitigates the banks’ risk of higher LVR mortgages, debt-servicing requirements and higher capital requirements on a bank-by-bank basis are likely to be the preferred options.

Growing risks in the housing market and the banks’ mortgage portfolios could be exacerbated if further macro-prudential scrutiny is not forthcoming. The recent interest rate cut may lead to further house price appreciation, especially in cities such as Sydney and Melbourne, where there has been greater investor activity over the past 12 to 18 months. The first rate cut in February 2015 was followed by increased activity in these housing markets. The growth in house prices exceeded lending growth up to the end of 2014, but this trend could reverse as interest rates are at historical lows. At the same time, it makes borrowers vulnerable to a potential increase in interest rates in the medium term. Australia has one of the highest household debt levels globally, and if low interest rates contribute to higher credit growth, it could drive up household indebtedness from already historically high levels.

Falling interest rates may also result in further growth in potentially higher-risk loan types, such as interest-only and investor loans. These loan types already represent a high proportion of new approvals for Australian banks, as shown in Fitch’s “APAC Banks: Chart of the Month, February 2015”. The proportion of new interest-only mortgages is higher than new investor mortgages, suggesting that owner-occupiers are increasing the use of these types of loans at a time when historically-low interest rates should encourage borrowers to pay off debt. Serviceability testing at Fitch-rated Australian banks may provide some offset to this risk, with loans assessed on a principle and interest basis and at interest rates well above the prevailing market rate.

 

RBA Cuts To Record Low – 2%

The RBA cut the cash rate by 25 basis points today, in the hope that i) households who are already carrying record debt will be persuaded to spend and borrow more, and ii) the “quiet word” from the regulator will keep a cap on exploding house prices in Sydney by controlling exuberant investment lending.  The journey back from this record low will be low and painful, and if a real crisis hits, there is so little left in the locker. Worth re-reading the recent Fitch commentary on the US who are facing a high debt, higher interest rate future.

At its meeting today, the Board decided to lower the cash rate by 25 basis points to 2.0 per cent, effective 6 May 2015.

The global economy is expanding at a moderate pace, but commodity prices have declined over the past year, in some cases sharply. These trends appear largely to reflect increased supply, including from Australia. Australia’s terms of trade are falling nonetheless.

The Federal Reserve is expected to start increasing its policy rate later this year, but some other major central banks are stepping up the pace of unconventional policy measures. Hence, financial conditions remain very accommodative globally, with long-term borrowing rates for sovereigns and creditworthy private borrowers remarkably low.

In Australia, the available information suggests improved trends in household demand over the past six months and stronger growth in employment. Looking ahead, the key drag on private demand is likely to be weakness in business capital expenditure in both the mining and non-mining sectors over the coming year. Public spending is also scheduled to be subdued. The economy is therefore likely to be operating with a degree of spare capacity for some time yet. Inflation is forecast to remain consistent with the target over the next one to two years, even with a lower exchange rate.

Low interest rates are acting to support borrowing and spending, and credit is recording moderate growth overall, with stronger lending to businesses of late. Growth in lending to the housing market has been steady over recent months. Dwelling prices continue to rise strongly in Sydney, though trends have been more varied in a number of other cities. The Bank is working with other regulators to assess and contain risks that may arise from the housing market. In other asset markets, prices for equities and commercial property have been supported by lower long-term interest rates.

The Australian dollar has declined noticeably against a rising US dollar over the past year, though less so against a basket of currencies. Further depreciation seems both likely and necessary, particularly given the significant declines in key commodity prices.

At today’s meeting, the Board judged that the inflation outlook provided the opportunity for monetary policy to be eased further, so as to reinforce recent encouraging trends in household demand.

Housing Lending Now Up $1.45 Trillion – RBA

The latest credit aggregates continues to show the same trends, with housing up again overall by 0.66%, but with investment lending still running at 0.9%, whilst owner occupied lending was 0.51% higher in the month.  As a result, the share of investment loans rose again, to 34.46%, from 34.37% last month. So the housing investment skew continues. More food for thought against further interest rate cuts. Total housing lending is running at an annual growth rate of 7.3%, up from 5.9% this time last year.

HousingAggregatesMarch2015Overall lending was 0.48% higher, with business lending growing just 0.19%, and personal credit 0.24%. Worryingly again we see a fall in the ratio of business lending to total credit, so once again, the banks are much happier meeting demand for house loans than helping business to borrow for productive purposes. We are not sure lower interest rates would stir business into action in the current environment, and with current lending policy and capital ratios in play. We think rates will stay on hold.

Lendiing-Aggregates-March-2015

 

RBA on FSI and Quest For Yield

Glenn Stevens spoke at the Australian Financial Review Banking & Wealth Summit “Observations on the Financial System“. He included comments on the implications of the quest for yield on retirement incomes, financial services culture, and remarks on the FSI inquiry.

 The Inquiry has eschewed wholesale changes in favour of more incremental ones. I do not intend to offer a point by point response to all the recommendations. Let me touch on just a few themes.

The first is enhancing the banking system’s resilience. There are a few issues here, the most contentious of which is whether banks’ capital ratios, which have already risen since the crisis, should be a little higher still. The Inquiry concluded that they should.

There has been a lot of debate about just where current capital ratios for Australian banks stand in the international rankings. The reason there is so much debate is because such comparisons are difficult to make. There seems little doubt, though, that most supervisory authorities (and for that matter most banks) around the world have, since the crisis, revised their thinking on how much capital is needed and none of those revisions has been downward. So wherever we stood at a point in time, just to hold that place requires more capital. And it’s likely to be demanded by the market. There’s generally not much doubt about which way the world is moving.

Of course, capital is not costless. If capital requirements become too onerous then the higher cost of borrowing could impinge on economic growth. But more capital brings the benefit of a more resilient system, one less prone to crisis and one more able to recover if a crisis does occur. Crises are infrequent, but very expensive. So there is a cost-benefit calculation to be done, or a trade-off to be struck – higher-cost intermediation, perhaps slightly reduced average economic growth in normal times, in return for the reduced probability, and impact, of deep downturns associated with financial crises. The Inquiry, weighing the costs and benefits, concluded that the benefits of moving further in the direction of resilience outweigh the rather small estimated costs.

The second set of issues surround ‘too-big-to-fail’ institutions and their resolution. The Inquiry is to be commended for grappling with this. These issues are complex and even after substantial regulatory reform at the global level, there is still key work in progress. The stated aim of all that work is to get to a situation where, with the right tools and preparation, it would be possible to resolve a failing bank (or non-bank) of systemic importance, without disrupting the provision of its critical functions and without balance sheet support from the public sector. This is explicitly for globally systemic entities, but the Inquiry has, sensibly enough, seen the parallel issue for domestically systemic ones as worthy of discussion.

Ending ‘too-big-to-fail’ is an ambitious and demanding objective. To achieve it, not only must systemic institutions hold higher equity capital buffers, but more tools to absorb losses are needed in the event the equity is depleted. Typically envisaged is a ‘bail-in’ of some kind, in which a wider group of creditors would effectively become equity holders, and who would share in the losses sustained by a failing entity. For this to work, there needs to be a market for the relevant securities that is genuinely independent of the deposit-taking sector – we can’t have banks hold one another’s bail-in debt. In a resolution, a host of operational complexities would also have to be sorted out. A resolution needs the support of foreign regulators if it is to be recognised across borders. It needs temporary stays on derivatives contracts so that counterparties don’t scramble for collateral at the onset of resolution. And it needs to be structured and governed well enough to withstand potential legal challenges and sustain market confidence.

A proposal for ‘total loss-absorbing capacity’, or TLAC, was announced at the G20 Summit in Brisbane last year. Consultations and impact assessments are under way, and an international standard on loss-absorbing capacity will be agreed by the G20 Summit in Antalya later this year; guidance on core policies to support cross-border recognition of resolution actions should be finalised shortly after.

It is fair to say that in its main submission to the Inquiry, the Reserve Bank counselled caution as far as ‘bail-in’ and so on is concerned. We would still do so. The Inquiry also favours a cautious approach. Again, though, the world seems to be moving in this general direction. It isn’t really going to be credible or prudent for Australia, with some large institutions that everyone can see are locally systemic, not to keep working on improvements to resolution arrangements.

The third set of recommendations from the Inquiry I want to touch on are those related to the payments system. The Inquiry generally supported the steps the Payments System Board (PSB) has taken since its creation after Wallis, but raised a few areas where the Board could consider consulting on possible further steps. As it happens, these dovetail well with issues that the PSB has been considering for some time. The Reserve Bank has since announced a review of card payments regulation and released an Issues Paper in early March. Among other things, it contemplates the potential for changes to the regulation of card surcharges and interchange fees.

Surcharging tends to be a ‘hot button’ issue with consumers and generated a large number of (largely identical) submissions to the Financial System Inquiry. But virtually all of the public’s concern is directed at a couple of industries where surcharges appear to be well in excess of acceptance costs, at least for some transactions. The Bank considers that its decision to allow surcharging of card payments in 2002 has been a valuable reform. It allows merchants to signal to consumers that there are differences in the cost of payment methods used at the checkout. By helping to hold down the cost of payments to merchants, the right to surcharge can help to hold down the prices of goods and services more generally.

The Bank made some incremental changes to the regulation of surcharging in 2013, but to date these have had a relatively limited effect on the cases of surcharging that most concern consumers. Our current review will consider ways we can retain the considerable benefits of allowing merchants to surcharge, while addressing concerns about excessive surcharges. One element of this might be, as the Financial System Inquiry suggests, to prevent surcharges for some payment methods, such as debit cards, if they were sufficiently low cost. This would mean that in most cases consumers would have better access to a payment method that is not surcharged, even when transacting online. Other options being considered are ways to make the permissible surcharge clearer, whether through establishing a fixed maximum or by establishing a more readily observable measure of acceptance costs.

The capping of card interchange fees is also now a longstanding policy and, we think, a beneficial one. Nonetheless, it is important to ensure that it continues to meet its objectives. Caps were put in place in 2003 based on concerns that interchange fees in mature payment systems can distort payment choices and, perversely, be driven higher by competition between payment schemes. As suggested by the Inquiry, the Bank’s review will consider whether the levels of the current caps remain appropriate. We know, for example, that lower caps have now been set in some other jurisdictions.

But there are other elements of the current regime that also warrant consideration. For instance, while average interchange fees meet the regulated caps, the dispersion of interchange rates around the average has increased significantly over time. The practical effect of this is that there can be a difference of up to 180 basis points in the cost of the same card presented at different merchants. This problem is aggravated by the fact that merchants often have no way of determining which are the high-cost cards.

Although the wide range of interchange fees is not unique to Australia, we would want to ensure so far as possible that the regulatory framework does not contribute to this trend or to declining transparency of individual card costs to merchants. The Bank’s review will consider a range of options, including ‘hard’ caps on interchange fees and hybrid solutions, along with setting more frequent compliance points for caps. Options for improving the ability of merchants to respond to differing card costs will also be considered.

While considering interchange fees, it is also appropriate to consider the circumstances of card systems that directly compete with the interchange-regulated schemes. This means, in particular, bank-issued cards that do not technically carry an interchange fee, but nonetheless are supported by payments to the issuer funded by merchant fees.

More broadly, all the elements I have mentioned – interchange fees, transparency and surcharging – are interrelated, which means that there are potentially multiple paths to achieving similar outcomes. I encourage those with an interest to engage with the Bank in the review process in the period ahead.

Turning away from the Financial System Inquiry to other matters, let me mention two.

I said at the beginning that the ‘search for yield’ continues. There is a line of discussion that tackles this issue from a cyclical point of view, thinking about how the balance sheet measures taken by the major central banks are affecting markets, the extent and nature of cross-border spillovers, what happens when the US Federal Reserve starts to tighten policy at some point and so on. I’ve spoken about such things elsewhere and have nothing to add today.

There is another conversation, however, that tends to take place at a lower volume, but which definitely needs to be had. That conversation is about what all this means for the retirement income system over the longer run. The key question is: how will an adequate flow of income be generated for the retired community in the future, in a world in which long-term nominal returns on low-risk assets are so low? This is a global question. Just about everywhere in the world the price of buying a given annual flow of future income has gone up a lot. Those seeking to make that purchase now – that is, those on the brink of leaving the workforce – are in a much worse position than those who made it a decade ago. They have to accept a lot more risk to generate the expected flow of future income they want.

The problem must be acute in Europe, where sovereign yields in some countries are negative for significant durations. But it is also potentially a non-trivial issue in our own country. In a conference about wealth, this might be a worthy topic of discussion.

And the final issue is misconduct. This has loomed larger for longer in many jurisdictions than we would have thought likely a few years ago. Investigations and prosecutions for alleged past misconduct are ongoing. It seems our own country has not been entirely immune from some of this. Without in any way wanting to pass judgement on any particular case, root causes seem to include distorted incentives coupled with an erosion of a culture that placed great store on acting in a trustworthy way.

Finance depends on trust. In fact, in the end, it can depend on little else. Where trust has been damaged, repair has to be made. Both industry and the official community are working hard to try to clarify expected standards of behaviour. Various codes of practice are being developed, calculation methodologies are being refined, and so on.[1] In some cases regulation is being contemplated. Initiatives like the Banking and Finance Oath also can make a very worthwhile contribution, if enough people are prepared to sign up and exhibit the promised behaviour.

In the end, though, you can’t legislate for culture or character. Culture has to be nurtured, which is not a costless exercise. Character has to be developed and exemplified in behaviour. For all of us in the financial services and official sectors, this is a never-ending task.

RBA Glass Is Half Full

The RBA minutes were released today, confirming that the board is waiting for more data, especially on inflation. They acknowledge slow wage growth and declining savings and a slow pickup in the non-mining sector. They also acknowledged risks in the housing market, especially in Sydney.  I have to say, they appear to be in the “glass half full” side of the room. Also. movements in exchange rates just before the last two rate announcements were referred to ASIC but no issues have been identified. Here is the release:

International Economic Conditions

Members noted that growth of Australia’s major trading partners had continued at around its average pace in early 2015. Growth in China looked to have eased a little further and this was likely to have contributed to further declines in iron ore and coal prices. Globally, the fall in oil prices in the second half of 2014 had led to lower inflation and was expected to provide additional support to demand in Australia’s trading partners. Monetary policies remained very accommodative.

In China, the authorities had announced a target for GDP growth in 2015 of 7 per cent, ½ percentage point below the target for 2014. Recent indicators suggested that economic conditions had softened. Growth of fixed asset investment had been slowing, particularly in real estate and manufacturing, and prices of residential property and sales volumes had declined further. Members noted that the deterioration in conditions in the property market had increased the vulnerability of leveraged property developers and local authorities that relied on revenue from land sales to support their infrastructure investment. They also noted that the central authorities had indicated a willingness to adjust policies to support employment growth, while remaining committed to putting financing on a more sustainable footing. The weakness in the property market in China had flowed through to slower growth in the demand for steel, which had, in turn, contributed to the recent falls in iron ore prices, even though Chinese imports of Australian iron ore had continued to increase.

The modest recovery of the Japanese economy was continuing. Labour market conditions remained tight and the recent annual spring wage negotiations had resulted in several large companies increasing base wages by more than they did a year earlier. In the rest of the Asia-Pacific region, growth had continued at around its average pace of the past decade, although there had been variation in the composition of growth across the region.

Members observed that the US economy had continued to grow, but that the pace of growth may have moderated in the early months of this year partly in response to the temporary effects of adverse weather conditions and industrial action at some ports. Labour market conditions had strengthened further over the past six months or so; employment had increased at around its fastest pace in several years and the unemployment rate had declined further. Members noted that overall wage growth in the United States remained subdued. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) had indicated that it was likely to begin the process of normalising interest rates in the second half of this year if economic conditions continued to evolve as expected.

In the euro area, economic activity had continued to recover gradually. The unemployment rate had declined a little further and there had been a noticeable lift in activity in some euro area periphery economies. Lower oil prices had reduced consumer price inflation significantly, but core measures of consumer price inflation had not changed much in recent months and remained well below the target of the European Central Bank (ECB). There had been some signs that conditions in the construction sector had stabilised and credit to both households and businesses was increasing, albeit gradually.

Members observed that bulk commodity prices had declined further over the past month. Although much of the decline over 2014 was driven by expansion in global supply, the slowing in growth of Chinese demand had contributed more recently. A small (but increasing) share of Australian iron ore production was estimated to be unprofitable at prevailing prices, while the decline in oil prices since the middle of 2014 was expected to lower the prices of Australian liquefied natural gas exports over the next few months.

Domestic Economic Conditions

The December quarter national accounts, which were released the day after the March meeting, confirmed that the Australian economy had grown at a below-average pace over 2014. Members noted that growth in dwelling investment, consumption and resource exports had picked up, but that business investment had continued to fall and public demand had made little contribution to growth over the year. Recent indicators suggested that the below-trend pace of GDP growth had continued into the March quarter.

Overall conditions in the housing market had remained strong, supported by very low interest rates and relatively strong population growth. Housing prices had continued to rise strongly in Sydney and, to a lesser extent, Melbourne, but growth in prices had eased recently in some other parts of the country. Other indicators of activity had also suggested strong conditions in the established housing market in Sydney and Melbourne. Housing credit overall had been growing at about 7 per cent in six-month-ended annualised terms, while credit to investors had grown at a pace a little above 10 per cent on the same basis. Recent data on loan approvals suggested that growth in housing credit was likely to continue at this pace, but not accelerate, in the months immediately ahead. Meanwhile, new dwelling approvals and loan approvals for new construction were at high levels, pointing to strong growth in dwelling investment over coming quarters.

Household consumption had increased in the December quarter, supported by low interest rates and rising household wealth. Even so, growth in household consumption over the second half of 2014 had been slightly below average, reflecting subdued growth in household income, while the saving ratio had continued its gradual decline of the past two years. More timely data had indicated that growth in the value of retail trade in January and February was about average and that consumer confidence had been close to average levels.

Mining investment was estimated to have declined by 13 per cent over 2014 and an even larger decline was expected over 2015. Moreover, members observed that the recent declines in oil prices could lead to some scaling back of investment plans in the oil and gas sector. Non-mining investment had been subdued for some time. Forward-looking indicators (such as the ABS capital expenditure survey and non-residential building approvals) as well as liaison suggested that it was likely to remain subdued, and could even decline, over the next year or so. Members noted, however, that there had been a pick-up in growth of credit to businesses of late. They also observed that the strongest improvement in investment intentions (apparent in the recent capital expenditure survey) had been recorded for industries experiencing the strongest output growth, such as rental, hiring & real estate and retail trade. More recently, survey measures of business confidence and capacity utilisation remained a little below average, while measures of business conditions were around average levels.

Members observed that there had been significant variation in the composition of domestic demand growth across the states over the course of 2014. Dwelling investment and consumption had contributed to growth in all states, whereas business investment had subtracted from growth in Queensland and Western Australia, mainly reflecting the decline in mining investment in these states. Members noted that public demand had contributed to domestic demand growth only in New South Wales and Victoria over the year and had made no contribution to output growth for the country as a whole.

Resource exports had grown strongly in the December quarter and there were early indications of strength in resource exports in the first few months of 2015. However, lower commodity prices were expected to lead to some reduction in the growth of production, and therefore exports, in 2015, particularly for coal. The data for recent quarters were consistent with the lower exchange rate having provided support to net exports, particularly for services.

Recent employment growth had been stronger than a year earlier, but it was still below the growth of the working-age population. Consequently, the unemployment rate had continued its gradual upward trend of recent years, notwithstanding a modest decline in February to 6.3 per cent. Other indicators, such as hours worked and the participation rate, had provided further evidence of spare capacity in the labour market. The various forward-looking indicators were stronger than a year earlier, but remained at levels consistent with only modest employment growth in the months ahead.

Members noted that the national accounts measures of wage growth had remained subdued. Combined with some pick‑up in labour productivity growth over recent years, this had meant that unit labour costs had not changed much for about three years. Various measures of inflation expectations had remained slightly below their longer-run averages.

Financial Markets

The Board’s discussion of financial markets commenced with the unusual trading in the Australian dollar that occurred in the period immediately prior to the announcement of the Board’s decisions in both February and March. Members noted that the illiquid conditions that existed in the foreign exchange market at that time meant that small trades could move the price by relatively large amounts, and that once such movements occurred it would be highly likely that algorithmic trading strategies would exacerbate such movements, particularly given the illiquid environment. Moreover, the occurrence of these movements meant that liquidity was likely to decline further as more liquidity providers pulled back from the market during this window.

Members were aware of the investigations currently being undertaken by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and were informed that internal work since the March meeting had not identified any evidence of procedural lapses or conduct that could have led to the early release of relevant information.

Global financial markets over the past month had continued to focus on the expected path of US monetary policy as well as the strained relationship between the Greek Government and its creditors.

Members noted that projections by members of the FOMC for the path of the federal funds rate had been revised down at the FOMC’s March meeting. Those projections remained above market expectations, which had flattened further following the FOMC’s reassessment and again after the release of weaker-than-expected employment data for March. Markets expected the first rise in the US federal funds rate to occur towards the end of the year.

Members also noted that negotiations between the new Greek Government and the European Commission, the ECB and the International Monetary Fund were fraught. As a result, there was some risk that Greece would not receive assistance funds in a timely fashion and the government would continue to rely on emergency measures to cover its liquidity needs. Greek banks in particular continued to face deposit outflows and had lost access to private funding markets, and as a result had increased their reliance on ECB funding. On a more positive note, members observed that there continued to be little contagion to other euro area periphery countries.

Members were briefed about the ECB’s balance sheet expansion in March, mainly reflecting lending to banks under its latest targeted longer-term refinancing operation and the commencement of government bond purchases. The ECB had also announced in March that it would not purchase bonds that carried yields below the rate that it paid on deposits (at present –0.2 per cent), indicating that the ECB would need to buy relatively long-dated German Bunds.

Government bond yields in most of the major economies remained at very low levels. They had shown little net change in the United States and Japan, while yields on long-term German Bunds had declined further following the launch of the ECB’s sovereign bond purchasing program. Domestically, longer-term government bond yields had also declined and the 10-year Australian bond yield was around its record low, with the spread to US yields close to its lowest level since 2001.

There were sizeable rises in equity prices in European and Japanese markets in March, while equity prices in China had increased by 15 per cent over the past month and by 90 per cent since the middle of 2014. In contrast, equity prices in Australia had been little changed in March. Prices of resource stocks remained under pressure.

The US dollar had appreciated a little further on a trade-weighted basis over March, taking the rise since July 2014 to 14 per cent. Over the same period, members observed that both the euro and the Australian dollar had depreciated by around 20 per cent against the US dollar. While the renminbi had both appreciated and depreciated at different times since July 2014, these moves had roughly netted out against the US dollar overall and the renminbi had therefore appreciated noticeably against most other currencies. Members also noted that the Australian dollar had recorded an all-time low against the New Zealand dollar.

Members concluded their discussion of financial markets with the observations that lending rates for business and housing in Australia had continued to edge down over the previous month, and that financial markets assigned a high probability to a reduction in the cash rate at the current meeting, and an even higher probability to a reduction occurring by the May meeting.

Considerations for Monetary Policy

Members’ overall assessment was that the outlook for global economic growth had not changed significantly over the past month and that it would be supported by stimulatory monetary policies and the fall in the price of oil since mid 2014. They observed that the apparent slowing of growth in China, in particular the further deterioration in conditions in the Chinese property market, had placed some additional downward pressure on the demand for steel and on the prices of Australia’s key commodity exports. Conditions in global financial markets had remained very accommodative. Changes to the stance of monetary policy by any of the major central banks and further significant developments in Europe had the potential to affect financial market conditions in Australia, including the exchange rate, over the coming year.

Data available at the time of the meeting suggested that the Australian economy had continued to grow somewhat below trend in the December quarter and into the first quarter of 2015. There had been evidence to suggest that the growth in consumption and dwelling investment had picked up, supported by the very low levels of interest rates. Exports were also growing. However, a significant pick-up in non-mining business investment was yet to occur and several indicators suggested it would remain subdued for longer than had earlier been anticipated. At the same time, the recent declines in bulk commodity prices could, at the margin, lead to a larger-than-expected fall in mining investment and some decline in the production of iron ore and coal. Data for the labour market suggested that the economy was likely to be operating with a degree of spare capacity for some time and that labour market conditions were likely to remain subdued. As a result, wage pressures were expected to remain contained and inflation was forecast to remain consistent with the target over the next year or so.

Members remained alert to the possibility that the low levels of interest rates could foster imbalances in the housing market. The most recent data suggested that activity in the housing market had remained strong, but there had been little change to housing market conditions overall or in the growth of housing credit in early 2015. Although prices continued to rise rapidly in Sydney and, to a lesser extent, Melbourne, trends elsewhere were more varied. Members noted that the Bank was working with other regulators to assess and contain risks arising from the housing market.

Overall, members considered that the current setting of monetary policy was accommodative and providing support to the economy. They also acknowledged that a lower exchange rate would help achieve more balanced growth in the economy. Further depreciation of the Australian dollar was likely given the recent declines in key commodity prices.

In considering whether or not to reduce the cash rate further at this meeting, members discussed the various channels through which monetary policy was affecting the economy at present, including the asset price and exchange rate channels. In assessing the operation of the cash flow channel in particular, they noted that the responsiveness of borrowers and savers to changes in interest rates and asset prices was unusually uncertain in a world of very low interest rates and high household leverage. Members also saw advantages in receiving more data, including on inflation, to assess whether or not the economy was on the previously forecast path and allowing more time for the economy to respond to the reduction in the cash rate earlier in the year.

Taking all these factors into account, the Board judged that it was appropriate to hold interest rates steady for the time being, while accepting that further easing of policy may be appropriate over the period ahead to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation consistent with the target. The Board would continue to assess the case for such action at forthcoming meetings.

The Decision

The Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 2.25 per cent.