RBA

At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.50 per cent. The global economic expansion is continuing. A number of advanced economies are growing at an above-trend rate and unemployment rates are low. The Chinese economy continues to grow solidly, with the authorities paying increased attention to the risks in the financial sector and the sustainability of growth....

The Reserve Bank hosted a roundtable discussion on innovations in small business finance yesterday, along with the Australian Treasury and the Australian Finance Industry Association. The roundtable was chaired by Christopher Kent, Assistant Governor (Financial Markets) of the Reserve Bank. Small businesses are very important for the economy, but they face challenges accessing finance. Entrepreneurs find...

At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.50 per cent. The global economy has strengthened over the past year. A number of advanced economies are growing at an above-trend rate and unemployment rates are low. The Chinese economy continues to grow solidly, with the authorities paying increased attention to the risks in the financial sector and the sustainability...

Joint media release with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission ASIC and the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) have welcomed the new BBSW calculation methodology, which commenced today. The bank bill swap rate (BBSW) rate is a major interest rate benchmark for the Australian dollar and is widely referenced in many financial contracts. Previously, BBSW was...

At its meeting today, the Payments System Board reviewed industry progress on providing merchants with the ability to route contactless debit card transactions to their lowest-cost processing network. Least-cost routing (LCR), or merchant routing, is an initiative aimed at increasing competitive pressure in the debit card market, and thereby holding down payment costs in the ...

At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 1.50 per cent. The global economy has strengthened over the past year. A number of advanced economies are growing at an above-trend rate and unemployment rates are low. The Chinese economy continues to grow solidly, with the authorities paying increased attention to the risks in the financial sector and the sustainability...

Mr Gayan Benedict has been appointed to the position of Chief Information Officer of the Reserve Bank of Australia. Mr Benedict was selected for the role from a strong field of applicants, both internal and external to the Bank. The appointment is effective from 14 May. Mr Benedict has been the Bank's Deputy Head, Technology Services since 2013. Prior to this he was Westpac Group's Head of...

The Reserve Bank hosted a roundtable discussion on small business finance today, along with the Australian Banking Association and the Council of Small Business Australia. The roundtable was chaired by Philip Lowe, Governor of the Reserve Bank. Small businesses are very important for the economy. They generate significant employment growth, drive innovation and boost competition in markets. Access to ...

The Reserve Bank of Australia has extended its bilateral local currency swap agreement with the People's Bank of China (PBC) for a further three years. The agreement, which can be activated by either party, allows for the exchange of local currencies between the two central banks of up to A$40 billion or CNY 200 billion. An initial swap agreement between the two central banks had been signed in 2012, with a...

The Reserve Bank has amended its Exchange Settlement Account (ESA) policy to remove the requirement that all banks must have an ESA, whether or not they use an agent to settle their real-time gross settlement (RTGS) transactions. The change follows amendments to the Banking Act 1959 that will allow all authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) to use the term ‘bank’. ADIs...