Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 17 & 21 : 23-Jul-19

Jonathan Mott of UBS has questioned whether the return on equity targets of Australia’s four major banks are "justifiable or sustainable". He argues that these targets could undermine the Reserve Bank’s efforts to stimulate the economy via interest rate cuts, as they reduce banks’ incentive to cut their own interest rates due to the impact on their net interest margins. The differential between the cash rate and banks’ lending rates has widened from less than two per cent prior to the global financial crisis to almost four per cent.

CORPORATES
UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, CANSTAR PTY LTD