Ridgway Financial Services

Despite fears of future negative rates from the corporate community, the RBA has held firm, electing to hold the cash rate at 0.25%, where it has sat since its emergency rate cut in mid-March. Today’s decision falls in line with the bank’s previous rhetoric. On multiple occasions Reserve Bank Governor, Philip Lowe has been quoted as saying that the cash rate is “extraordinarily unlikely” to drop into the negative, most recently affirming this stance during the recent FINSIA Forum on 21 May, a panel discussion between Australian financial regulators. “I said previously that it was extraordinarily unlikely that we would have negative interest rates and there has been no change,” Dr Lowe said. “The board is not contemplating negative interest rates in Australia. I think the costs of that exceed the benefits.” However, in past weeks the corporate world has been quietly preparing in case of a rate drop. John Elias, leader of national law firm Minter Ellison’s de...

Government Stimulus No. 3 – Keeping Australian business ticking over and Australian workers employed The Prime Minister released a third stimulus package to further support the Australian people and our economy.  It is designed to allow business affected by Corona Virus to keep ticking over until the emergency has passed.  Businesses that have already shut are also eligible so they can slumber along rather than having to permanently shut.  Additionally, the proposal is available to Sole Traders representing the first direct boost to this segment of the Australian economy. We have prepared a summary of the new proposed package for your information. However, as we have been getting a very high volume of calls relating to this, we have gone a step further and added the government fact sheets for those looking for more detail. We are happy to discuss in depth with you should you wish and remain committed to giving you the best information possible. Fact Sheet - Job ...

Following the Reserve Bank's emergency meeting decision to cut the official cash rate last Thursday, Australians have been waiting to see how their lenders are responding. During this trying time, the big 4 banks in particular have announced assistance packages to support their customers and boost the cash flow of businesses and households. NAB, Westpac and ANZ announced that affected home owners could pause or defer mortgage repayments for up to six months, pending a three-month review as part of their roll-out of new support measures.^ Here's how the big 4 banks plan to help customers* 0.70% reduction to 1, 2 and 3-year fixed home loan rate...