Australian banks urged to reduce reliance on gov't guarantees

• Source: Xinhua
• [14:36 July 28 2009]
• Comments

Banks will soon need to reduce their reliance on government guarantees to support fund raising activity in wholesale credit markets, according to Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) governor Glenn Stevens.

"I think it will soon be time for banks everywhere, including here, to borrow in their own right," he said.

Stevens was responding to questions after making a speech to The Anika Foundation lunch, supported by Australian Business Economists and Macquarie Group Ltd, in Sydney on Tuesday.

"It would make sense for Australian banks, which have accounted for 10 percent of global issuance of government guaranteed bank debt over the past nine months, to step up their efforts to do so," he said.