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Banks should pass on the latest interest rate hike to savers without delay, the treasurer says.
Jim Chalmers urged banks to apply the cash rate increase to deposit accounts as quickly as they were passing them on to borrowers.
At the May board meeting, the Reserve Bank lifted interest rates by another 25 basis points, marking the 11th hike in the relentless tightening cycle targeted at high inflation.
"The main thing that makes people really unhappy in our community is the sense that interest rate hikes are passed on quite quickly to borrowers and sometimes more slowly to savers," Dr Chalmers said in Canberra on Thursday.
His comments were in the context of NAB reporting a cash profit jump of 17 per cent driven by rising interest rates and higher business lending.
The consumer watchdog is investigating how banks are treating savers as interest rate settings tighten, with concerns hikes across deposit products have been lower, slower and conditional.
Also on Thursday, fresh Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed the trade balance climbing to $15.3 billion in March from an upwardly revised $14.1 billion in February.
The trade surplus was the second highest on record and above the $13 billion consensus guess.
Exports lifted 3.8 per cent over the month and imports rose 2.5 per cent month-on-month.
The growth in exports was largely driven by an 11.6 per cent rise in iron ore exports and a 10.9 per cent lift in rural goods.
