Morning Briefing: Wholesale funder hikes variable rates

Wholesale funder hikes variable rates... RBA’s next board member says she’s a 'dove with a hawk’s wings’...

Advantedge hikes variable rates
Advantedge Financial Services  has announced an increase in interest rates for its variable loans.

All variable rate loans will rise by 0.10% per annum and will apply to all of Advantedge’s white label partners, effective 24 January 2017.

Advantedge general manager Brett Halliwell said Advantedge remains committed to providing aggregators and brokers with the best possible products in Australia’s dynamic home loan market.

“Our white label products are simple, high-value and flexible, and continue to be highly competitive. This rate change is needed due to the challenging economic environment, increased regulatory requirements, and financial market conditions that we, and all lenders,
are facing,” Halliwell said.

RBA’s next board member says she’s a 'dove with a hawk’s wings’
(Bloomberg) -- Carol Schwartz, a high-profile advocate of women’s leadership named to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s board on Friday, describes herself as “a dove with a hawk’s wings” when it comes to prioritizing economic growth and inflation.

“It’s a balance, isn’t it,” Schwartz said in an interview Friday. “You have to be very careful about growth, you always have to have an eye for growth. But at the same time, obviously, inflation has an impact that one has to be incredibly aware of.”

Schwartz, with a background in property and retail, will commence a five-year term from mid-February and replaces fellow businesswoman and economist Heather Ridout. Schwartz has previously served as a non-executive director of the Bank of Melbourne, the chair of Industry Superannuation Property Trust and as national president of the Property Council of Australia. Three of the RBA’s nine board members are women.

Ridout, a self-described dove who leaned toward growth over fighting inflation, sat on the board as the central bank intensified an easing cycle to combat the unwinding of mining investment that was dragging on the economy. Treasurer Scott Morrison acknowledged Ridout in a statement announcing Schwartz’s appointment, saying the outgoing board member had made an important contribution “through a challenging period.”