Rudd warns banks on interest rates hike

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd wishes retail banks would cut interest rates as quickly as
they raise them in response to official cash rate moves.
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised the cash rate by 25 basis points on
Tuesday, its second consecutive monthly increase.
ANZ Bank matched the increase on its standard variable mortgage rate within minutes
of the RBA decision, and the other major banks soon followed suit.
"I do note a contrast between, shall I say, the speed which interest rates are
brought down on the part of the commercial banks and the speed with which they are
put up," Mr Rudd told Fairfax Radio Network on Wednesday.
He warned the banks not to lift rates further than the official rate increase.
"What I would be very, very concerned about is if any of the commercial banks then
proceeded to increase interest rates in anything in excess of the 25-basis-point
adjustment."
Some retail banks chiefs have said they can't always guarantee they will be able to
limit rate increases because of funding pressures.