Bill Evans

Sep 6, 2023 | westpac.com.au | Josh Wall |James Thornhill |Bill Evans

The Reserve Bank’s decision to hold the cash rate at 4.1 per cent at its September Board meeting had been widely expected., including by Westpac economists. If anything, the RBA sounded a little more confident that inflation was under control, and less concerned about the tightness in the labour market. Governor Philip Lowe also noted increased uncertainty around the outlook for China’s economy, which is highly relevant for Australia given China’s importance as our biggest trade partner.

Aug 2, 2023 | westpac.com.au | Emma Foster |Ben Young |Josh Wall |Bill Evans

The Reserve Bank’s decision to leave the cash rate unchanged at 4.1 per cent at its August Board meeting took us by surprise. We had expected another increase given the tight labour market and the fact that the Board had a clear tightening bias. With Governor Philip Lowe indicating that the RBA now expects inflation to be back within the 2-3 per cent band by the end of 2025, and that recent economic data is consistent with them reaching the target, we now believe the cash rate will remain on hold.

Apr 20, 2023 | westpaciq.com.au | Bill Evans

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Mar 21, 2023 | westpaciq.com.au | Bill Evans

©2022 Westpac Institutional Bank is a division of Westpac Banking Corporation (‘Westpac’) ABN 33 007 457 141 AFSL and Australian credit licence 233714. Things you should know Westpac collects, uses and discloses your personal information for the purposes of providing the information and insights requested from us and otherwise in accordance with our Privacy Statement.

Mar 21, 2023 | westpac.com.au | Julie Grant |Ben Young |Thomas Corwin Evans |Bill Evans

The turmoil in global financial markets, which started with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, will have major implications for the outlook for the global economy. Regional banks in the US will be subject to more regulation. They’re also faced with nervous depositors who might be thinking about moving their money to other banks, while ratings agencies will be closely scrutinising them for potential downgrades.