Briefs: MasterCard outed as interchange campaign backer, Fitch says Australian mortgage arrears stab

MasterCard has confirmed it is a backer of a US organisation campaigning against a proposal to reduce card interchange fees outlined in a Reserve Bank review of payment card regulation. MasterCard told the media and marketing news site Mumbrella that it had contributed to the efforts of the International Alliance for Electronic Payments, which is running a campaign under the banner "Don't Change My Interchange". The RBA set benchmarks for card interchange over a decade ago and in its latest review says there has been a significant increase in card payment volumes in recent years resulting in a fall in "average resource costs", which has not been reflected in a fall in interchange fees.
The Fitch Dinkum RMBS Index increased by only two basis points to 1.17 per cent in the quarter ended 31 March 2015, even though property market conditions in Australia are improving, with historically low interest rates, high house prices and a stable economy. In line with Fitch's expectations, Christmas and holiday spending pressures on mortgage performance in 1Q15 were offset by an interest rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia in February 2015 and the temporary fall in petrol prices. "It is evident that arrears performance has reached its lower bound. Arrears have remained stable since 4Q13 when the environment started improving for borrowers," Fitch observed in a brief report.