Narev expecting high dollar to stay
(17 August 2012 – Australia) Commonwealth Bank Australia (CBA) chief executive Ian Narev expects the high Australian dollar to stick around, and said the country’s central bank would be overstepping its mandate if it was to intervene in currency markets to push down the dollar.
The focus on the currency came as CBA - the country's biggest bank - confirmed it was also feeling the pressure from slowing demand for housing loans and was being pinched by higher funding costs.
''I'm not sure their [the Reserve Bank's] job is to use the ammunition they have to adjust the currency against market pressures,'' he said.
Narev took the top job at CBA last December and had seen the higher currency was pressuring exporters.
Treasurer Wayne Swan recently said the high dollar was making business harder for trade-exposed sectors and put the currency gains down to Australia’s attractiveness as an investment destination.
The bank revealed it had slashed about 970 jobs in the past six months, despite a commitment by Narev to resist the wholesale job cuts of rivals.
The losses were mostly normal staff attrition and roles not being replaced, although Narev acknowledged there were some ''limited redundancies''.
Narev, who threw his support behind opposition calls for a banking system review, said he remained positive about Australia's medium-to-long-term outlook but global economic prospects remained uncertain.
''I'm not sure their [the Reserve Bank's] job is to use the ammunition they have to adjust the currency against market pressures,'' he said.
Narev took the top job at CBA last December and had seen the higher currency was pressuring exporters.
Treasurer Wayne Swan recently said the high dollar was making business harder for trade-exposed sectors and put the currency gains down to Australia’s attractiveness as an investment destination.
The bank revealed it had slashed about 970 jobs in the past six months, despite a commitment by Narev to resist the wholesale job cuts of rivals.
The losses were mostly normal staff attrition and roles not being replaced, although Narev acknowledged there were some ''limited redundancies''.
Narev, who threw his support behind opposition calls for a banking system review, said he remained positive about Australia's medium-to-long-term outlook but global economic prospects remained uncertain.
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