Business finance harder to find

Businesses are finding new credit harder to find, with the Reserve Bank of Australia chiming in to support the findings of surveys published by East & Partners and National Australia Bank on the same point.

In the RBA's quarterly statement on monetary policy, published yesterday, the RBA said businesses indicated in the bank's liaison that they are having more difficulty obtaining finance and this is having an impact on their investment plans.

The RBA noted that cuts to business lending rates by banks were, as with many consumer rates, less than the cuts in the cash rate over recent months.

As a result the average interest rate paid by businesses remained above the post 1993 average, implying that monetary policy in practice remains restrictive.