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The Link between the Cash Rate and Market Interest Rates

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  • Philip Lowe

    (Reserve Bank of Australia)

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between the cash rate and interest rates set by financial intermediaries and interest rates set in auction markets. It presents estimates of the average degree of pass-through of cash rate changes to these other interest rates. It also presents a model of the spread between banks’ lending rates and the cash rate, and then uses the model to analyse developments in bank lending spreads over recent years. The paper argues that while banks’ average lending spreads did not widen in the early 1990s, the margin between lending rates and the cash rate did increase. It examines the reasons for this change, paying particular attention to the roles played by changes in the structure of banks’ liabilities, changes in default probabilities and changes in the degree of competition. The large lending spreads at the margin have led to intensification of competition, particularly in the market for housing loans. While these competitive pressures took some time to emerge, they are now playing a role in the narrowing of margins.

Suggested Citation

  • Philip Lowe, 1995. "The Link between the Cash Rate and Market Interest Rates," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9504, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    • Handle: RePEc:rba:rbardp:rdp9504
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    File URL: https://www.rba.gov.au/publications/rdp/1995/pdf/rdp9504.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Philip Lowe & Thomas Rohling, 1992. "Loan Rate Stickiness: Theory and Evidence," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9206, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    2. Bob Rankin, 1992. "The Cash Market in Australia," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9214, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    3. Bordes, Christian & Goyeau, Daniel & Melitz, Jacques & Sauviat, Alain, 1991. "The profitability of anticipated inflation in banking," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 57-60, September.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jenny Diggle & Robert Brooks, 2007. "The target cash rate and its impact on investment asset returns in Australia," Applied Financial Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 17(8), pages 615-633.
    2. Giesecke, James & Dixon, Peter & Rimmer, Maureen, 2016. "The costs and benefits of financial regulation: A financial CGE assessment of the impact of a rise in commercial bank capital adequacy ratios," Conference papers 332731, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    3. David Gruen & John Romalis & Naveen Chandra, 1999. "The Lags of Monetary Policy," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 75(3), pages 280-294, September.
    4. Gordon de Brouwer, 1995. "The Liberalisation and Integration of Domestic Financial Markets in Western Pacific Economies," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9506, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    5. Machava, Agostinho, 2017. "The Macroeconomic Determinants of the Pass-Through from the Market Interest Rate to the Bank Lending Rate in Mozambique," Umeå Economic Studies 954, Umeå University, Department of Economics.
    6. Valadkhani, Abbas & Worthington, Andrew, 2014. "Asymmetric behavior of Australia's Big-4 banks in the mortgage market," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 57-66.
    7. Milind Sathye, 2013. "Financial Crisis and Interest Rate Pass-Through in Australia," Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies (RPBFMP), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 16(04), pages 1-22.
    8. Pablo Cotler & Rodrigo Carrillo, 2022. "Monetary Policy and Lending Interest Rates: evidence from Mexico," Working Paper Series Sobre México 2022003, Sobre México. Temas en economía.
    9. de Brouwer,Gordon, 1999. "Financial Integration in East Asia," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521651486.
    10. West, L.k. & Agbola, W.F., 2005. "Causality Links Between Asset Prices And Cash Rate In Australia," International Journal of Applied Econometrics and Quantitative Studies, Euro-American Association of Economic Development, vol. 2(3), pages 69-86.
    11. James A. Giesecke & Peter B. Dixon & Maureen T. Rimmer, 2016. "The Economy-wide Impact of a Rise in Commercial Bank Capital Adequacy Ratios," Centre of Policy Studies/IMPACT Centre Working Papers g-261, Victoria University, Centre of Policy Studies/IMPACT Centre.
    12. David M. Williams, 2010. "Consumption, wealth and credit liberalisation in Australia," Economics Series Working Papers 492, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    13. James A. Giesecke & Peter B. Dixon & Maureen T. Rimmer, 2017. "The Economy-wide Impacts of a Rise in the Capital Adequacy Ratios of Australian Banks," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 93, pages 16-37, June.
    14. Anthony Brassil & Jon Cheshire & Joseph Muscatello, 2018. "The Transmission of Monetary Policy through Banks' Balance Sheets," RBA Annual Conference Volume (Discontinued), in: John Simon & Maxwell Sutton (ed.),Central Bank Frameworks: Evolution or Revolution?, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    15. Abbas Valadkhani & Sajid Anwar & Amir Arjonandi, 2012. "How to capture the full extent of price stickiness in credit card interest rates?," Economics Working Papers wp12-02, School of Economics, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
    16. Disyatat, Piti & Vongsinsirikul, Pinnarat, 2003. "Monetary policy and the transmission mechanism in Thailand," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 389-418, June.
    17. Malcolm Edey & John Romalis, 1996. "Issues in Modelling Monetary Policy," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9604, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    18. Valadkhani, Abbas, 2013. "The pricing behaviour of Australian banks and building societies in the residential mortgage market," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 133-151.
    19. Abbas Valadkhani & Sajid Anwar, 2012. "Interest Rate Pass-Through and the Asymmetric Relationship between the Cash Rate and the Mortgage Rate," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 88(282), pages 341-350, September.
    20. Ric Battellino & John Broadbent & Philip Lowe, 1997. "The Implementation of Monetary Policy in Australia," RBA Research Discussion Papers rdp9703, Reserve Bank of Australia.
    21. Jason Nassios & James A. Giesecke & Peter B. Dixon & Maureen T. Rimmer, 2016. "A modelling framework for analysing the role of superannuation in Australia's financial system," Centre of Policy Studies/IMPACT Centre Working Papers g-266, Victoria University, Centre of Policy Studies/IMPACT Centre.
    22. Nargis Bharucha & Ellis W. Tallman, 2000. "Credit crunch or what? Australian banks during the 1986–93 credit cycle," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, vol. 85(Q3), pages 13-34.
    23. Abbas Valadkhani & George Chen & Bernice Kotey, 2014. "Asymmetric changes in Australia’s small business loan rate," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 43(4), pages 945-957, December.

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