Banks go ape
As mentioned yesterday the moment I skimmed the final Royal Commission report this was set to be quite some celebratory day for the major bank stocks.
And so it was...
And so it was...
On a more considered inspection the Reserve Bank did acknowledge some downside risks for growth in the economy, growing uncertainty around household spending, and the potentially negative impact of falling house prices in some cities.
Inflation is supposed to hit 2 per cent this year (although fuel prices will result in an initial decline in headline inflation), rising to 2¼ per cent by 2020, but increasingly that feels a little more like hope than expectation.
But, today mainly belonged to the bankers.
AMP was up almost 10 per cent at the close, and Westpac closed up by more than 7 per cent.
AMP was up almost 10 per cent at the close, and Westpac closed up by more than 7 per cent.
On the other hand Mortgage Choice closed down at just 78 cents, a far cry from above $3.00 in the not-too-distant past.
And Australia's largest mortgage aggregator AFG saw all but a third of its market cap wiped away during today's trade, with the stock price having fallen by more than half since last February.
No advice here, but in my opinion that will prove to be a market overreaction in time as a more commercially realistic approach is adopted with regards to mortgage broking industry reform.
