Yesterday, Australian Treasury secretary John Fraser was speaking in parliament
At a Senate estimates hearing
Via the Sydney Morning Herald:
- Said the Australian household sector's assets are around five times greater than its debts
- "That said, asset values can always fall, and often do, while debt values generally don't, squeezing net worth in the process and perhaps more importantly, around 75 per cent of household assets are in housing and superannuation"
- For these reasons, he said, Australian financial regulators are alive to the risks presented by household sector debt, and will continue to closely enforce sound lending practices by Australian financial institutions.
Fraser also added:
- "in the next hundred years interest rates will go up"
- "People should be wise to prepare themselves for that"
Fraser not sounding like he is in the 2018 rate hike camp.