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Economic conditions for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been relatively strong since the second half of 2021, and demand for business finance is high. However, the environment remains challenging and uncertain, and interest rates on loans for SMEs are rising from historical lows. Small businesses continue to report that…

The average cost for a merchant to accept a card payment has declined over recent years. However, consumers are making more payments with cards than ever before, which is raising total payment costs for merchants. Smaller merchants also face notably higher card payment costs per transaction than larger merchants. To…

Bonds account for around 10 per cent of Australian banks’ funding, and bonds issued by banks account for about half of the non-government bond market. The Australian bank bond market is primarily driven by the five largest banks, which issue most of the banks’ bonds. This article explores trends in…

High inflation expectations can have significant consequences for the economy as a whole, and can become self-reinforcing. It is therefore noteworthy that inflation expectations of Australian households are persistently higher than actual inflation. This is partly because when consumers are more uncertain about the economy, they tend to report their…

Headline inflation is at multi-decade highs in most advanced economies, reflecting a confluence of factors. Wages growth has also increased, but not to the same extent. This article examines the risk that a wage-price spiral could emerge in these economies by looking at historical experience and the various factors that…

Financial stress in China’s property development sector has attracted significant attention because it may have systemic consequences for financial stability in the broader Chinese economy. Though China Evergrande Group, one of the country’s largest and most leveraged property developers, has received a considerable share of this attention, risks in the…