Why this former RBA official believes there are no rate cuts on the horizon
Jonathan Kearns spent 28 years at the RBA. He shares his thoughts on what could have been different.
.png)
HIGHLIGHTS
- Kearns spent 28 years at the RBA and contributed to the RBA Review
- We examine the central bank's misjudgments around inflation and consumer resilience
- How are investors dealing with today's economic challenges?
In 28 years at the Reserve Bank of Australia, Dr. Jonathan Kearns has seen it all. When Kearns joined the central bank in early 1995, the cash rate target was a staggering (at least by today's standards) 7.5%. When he left the RBA in March this year, it was 3.6%.
While the interest rate is not a KPI for judging the RBA's performance, it is the most public of all the metrics. After all, everything from mortgage rates to bond prices and equity market valuations are affected in some shape or form by interest rates.
Kearns was right at the heart of this issue when he was the Bank's head of domestic markets. Before that, he spent several years overseeing financial stability. He was also a contributor to the RBA Review which was recently released.
These days, he has a new title as the inaugural Chief Economist at Challenger Investment Management. And for the first time since he took the job, he's sitting down for an extended conversation about the RBA, economic policy in Australia, and what he is hoping to contribute in his new role.
.png)