This paper describes the Australian banking system, highlighting ways in which it differs from other major banking systems. It draws together themes from previous work conducted at the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), and outlines the role the banking system plays in the transmission of monetary...

Housing investment is one of the most cyclical components of GDP. Much of that cyclicality stems from the sector’s sensitivity to interest rates, but it is also possible that construction lags generate intrinsic cyclicality in this sector. Although the housing sector is generally considered to...

In this paper, we measure how the fixed-interest market in Australia assesses and responds to new economic information. We use high-frequency data, precise announcement times and market-based forecasts to measure the reaction of bill and bond yields to news. The period covered is from January...