The Weekly Roundup

Good Morning and Happy Monday!

Well the last week wasn’t full of banks reducing rates but it certainly was full of banks!

As you’d all know NAB and Westpac were both in the news for similar spurious reasons. A NAB branch lending manager was convicted of fraud and jailed. Yet it would seem that Westpac and NAB both got off with a slap on the wrist with fines that their clients will all end up paying for.

However the suspension of Westpac’s top dog’s annual bonus’ did seem to improve the mood.

I found it a strange irony that during parliament this week commentary was around the now litigious nature of ASIC, especially when for a very long time the regulators have been called on to act and litigate by the very same parliament.

It would seem that the blame game continues.

In more positive news in Canberra, our labour market improving against a declining average, as well as wage growth here in the public and private sectors at double the national rate according to the ABS and the Canberra Business Chamber.

This time next month we will all hopefully be enjoying some time with family. With 4 weeks to go, I don’t think we will see any movement from banks on their rates from here, given what would a hard press to get anything settled by Christmas now (difficult not impossible 😉) They may start the new year with a bang hopefully.

SME bunsiness lenders have certainly been pushing their wares in the last few weeks with some offering repayment holidays to kick off with

!

While they can be expensive solutions, if your business requires some additional cash flow to get through the Christmas period then this might assist. In general the loans from these SME lenders don’t have penalties for paying out early which might be handy if a youjust needs the money for a very short term.

Let me know if you would like me to have a look for you.

Have a great week

Justin

Scenarios quoted above are suggestions and constitute general advice only.