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February 6th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda Treasurer Wayne Swan has urged the major banks to think “long and hard” about taking their customers for granted if the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) cuts the official cash rate at its first board meeting of the year.
Financial markets are widely expecting a cut in the cash rate to 4.0 per cent from 4.25 per cent on Tuesday following on from the two reductions in November and December.
But the major banks have warned that they may not be able to pass on any reduction in full because the cost of raising money abroad has risen because of the European debt crisis.
“I think customers would be rightly angry if their bank decided to withhold any cut,” Mr Swan said on Tuesday.
“Banks remain very profitable, with very healthy returns on equity and net interest margins.”
But he said the government’s bank competition reforms had made it easier for customers to look elsewhere if they are not happy with their current banking arrangements.
Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) shows that loans taken out at smaller banks grew at twice the rate of the big four banks in the past year.
The major banks’ lending grew at 7.8 per cent in 2011, down from a 10.7 per cent pace in 2010, while smaller financial institutions expanded their loans by 8.1 per cent, compared with just 3.7 per cent in the previous year.
Growth was even more rapid among non-bank lenders, surging by 14.8 per cent in 2011 from 6.3 per cent the previous year.
“Our banking reforms are clearly helping smaller lenders compete with the big banks by offering better deals,” Mr Swan said.
“The big banks can no longer assume a customer will stick with them once they sign on the dotted line.”
The government’s reforms have included scrapping exit fees on new mortgages, additional investment in the residential mortgage-backed securities market aimed at providing smaller lenders with cheaper funding, and allowing banks to issue covered bonds.
“Banks should think long and hard about taking their customers for granted,” Mr Swan said.
“Following our banking reforms, they’ve now got to fight for their customers with better deals, services and value.”
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