In Australia, a woman has become the head of the central bank for the first time. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Treasury Secretary Jim Chalmers announced on Friday that deputy governor Michele Bullock will lead the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) for the next seven years. “This is a historic appointment,” said Chalmers. The current central bank governor Philip Lowe will not be granted a second term. The government was under pressure to sack Lowe over his interest rate policy. Lowe had encouraged Australians to borrow in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. He envisioned at the time that interest rates were unlikely to rise until 2024. But then the RBA had already started raising interest rates in mid-2022. This had sparked fierce public criticism. The key interest rate has now been raised twelve times and is now at a decade high of 4.1 percent. One of the consequences of the tightening trajectory has been monthly mortgage payments for households, while soaring living costs are already weighing heavily on them. Lowe had even taken the extraordinary step of apologizing to all borrowers who had relied on his assurances. Lowe (61) will leave office on September 17. This ends a 43-year career with the RBA. Treasury Secretary Chalmers said he believes Vice Governor Bullock, 60, is best placed to lead the RBA through an upcoming reorganization. Bullock joined the central bank in 1985 with a master’s degree from the London School of Economics (LSE). She is highly regarded by analysts.
Australia’s central bank gets a boss – economy
