Morning Briefing: Not all banks to pass on full RBA rate cut

After the central bank dropped the cash rate by 0.25% to 1.75% yesterday, most majors will pass it on in full... Federal, State governments urged to address housing supply and affordability...

Not all banks to pass on full RBA rate cut
After the central bank dropped the cash rate by 0.25% to 1.75% yesterday, ANZ Bank is the only major not to pass on the full value of the cut to its home loan customers, according to the Australian Financial Review.

ANZ Bank made the decision due to higher funding costs, the paper reported, and will instead reduce its home loan rates by 0.19 of a percentage point, with its benchmark rate for owner-occupiers falling to 5.37 per cent.

National Australia Bank, Westpac, Commonwealth Bank and Bank of Queensland have said they would pass on the full RBA cut. 

ANZ's cut will take effect on May 13, NAB's on May 16, CBA's on May 20 and Westpac's on May 23.

Federal, State governments urged to address housing supply and affordability
The Federal government could increase housing supply and ease affordability issues by providing states with financial incentives to overhaul their planning laws.

According to a report authored by Deloitte Access Economics and commissioned by the Property Council of Australia, incentivising the reform of planning controls would go a long way to addressing current supply issues.

“This is about moving away from ‘dinky’ initiatives that give the illusion of dealing with housing affordability, but that do not deal with the substance,” PCA chief executive Ken Morrison said.

“The critical ingredient to addressing housing affordability is freeing up planning systems to help close housing supply gap, which currently sits at more than 200,000 homes,” Morrison said.