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Intellitrain Finance News

March 5th

2010

A WEEK IN REVIEW

Interest rate hike bad news for first home buyers

The RBA raised the cash rate to 4 per cent, the highest since February 2009, from 3.75 per cent after its board meeting.
However, according to the HIA, there were still "considerable concerns" over the state of the global economy.

In a comment to the media, the HIA stated that, "The removal of the first home buyers boost and interest rate increases in the December quarter of 2009 saw a record drop in affordability according to the HIA/CBA Affordability Index.'' In further comments, the HIA noted that without further strong growth in residential construction during 2011 and 2010, Australia's shortage of housing stocks will become more acute, delivering undue upwards pressure on rents and existing home values.

In a recent posting on news.com.au, Mortgage Choice senior corporate affairs manager Kristy Sheppard said although rising repayments were a pain, "borrowers need to accept that now we're experiencing healthy economic growth the Reserve Bank is bringing the cash rate back to a neutral level."

"Whether we like it or not, rising rates will be a fact of life this year.

Ms Sheppard said if homeowners were going to struggle making higher repayments, they should take action now.
"For example, you could look into moving to a different loan product

Source: news.com.au

Responsible lending guide released by ASIC

ASIC has released a regulatory guidance to assist credit licensees comply with the responsible lending obligations contained in the National Consumer Credit Protection Act (National Credit Act).

This guidance is designed to help credit licensees and credit license applicants to:

develop arrangements and systems to meet their responsible lending obligations; and
understand what ASIC expects when assessing whether licensees are complying with their responsible lending obligations.

Regulatory Guide 209, Credit licensing: Responsible lending conduct obligations

Source: ASIC

Regards,
Elise Harper

MARCH INDUSTRY SNAPSHOT

Intellitrain will be producing a 2010 Finance Industry report, to be released at the end of the year. This report will compile key statistics from Australian Brokers - aiming to profile Australia's average broker and gain insight into Australia's top brokers.

We will be asking for participation in a number of small surveys over the next couple of months as part of our research.

Keep your eyes peeled for our short surveys, and be in the draw to win some great prizes.

This week: One participant will win a $500 Training Voucher - for use on any of our qualifications or courses!!