‘Unquestionably strong’
Why Aussie banks will ride out global chaos
AUSTRALIA’S banks remain “unquestionably strong” and local financial markets are “still functioning”, despite being volatile amid growing global strain.
Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) assistant governor Chris Kent has sought to allay domestic fears of global economic meltdown after a $4bn rescue plan was announced for Swiss bank Credit Suisse overnight Sunday.
American bank Silicon Valley Bank failed earlier this month, triggering a global strain on bond markets that risked being further exacerbated by the collapse of Credit Suisse. Rival bank USB has agreed to take over Credit Suisse following a weekend of negotiations.
In a speech to KangaNews on Monday, Dr Kent said Australian lenders had no funding issues and were equipped to handle even a prolonged period of market strain.
“Conditions in global bond markets have been strained recently following the failure of Silicon Valley Bank in the US. Volatility in Australian financial markets has picked up, but markets are still functioning,” he said.
“Most importantly, Australian banks are unquestionably strong – the banks’ capital and liquidity positions are well above APRA’s regulatory requirements.
“Banks are already well advanced on their bond issuance plans for the year and could defer their bond issuance for a while,” Dr Kent said.
“Even if markets remain strained for a time, Australian banks’ issuance will continue to benefit from the strength of their balance sheets.”
Last week, the peak body of Australian financial regulators was forced to convene an emergency session to discuss the implications of Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse.
The fallout of aggressive monetary policy has led to questions about how much harder central banks can go with rate rises to tame inflation without triggering a full financial collapse.
Dr Kent said the board would “respond as necessary to bring inflation back to target in a reasonable target”.
He said the large number of mortgage-holders with fixedrate loans, as well as the significant savings buffers brought about during the pandemic, would likely delay the full impact of aggressive interest rate hikes.
He noted that only about 45 per cent of the cash rate increases to date had passed through to the total scheduled mortgage payments as at the end of 2022.
“Slightly more will have passed through in the early months of this year,” he said.
Defending the RBA’s 10 consecutive rate rises, Dr Kent said the central bank was benefiting “all Australians”.
“High inflation imposes a significant burden on all of us – those with a mortgage, those with savings and the most vulnerable with neither,” he said.