‘RBA must take responsibility for their poor insight’

As mortgage holders breathe a temporary sigh of relief in the wake of yesterday's interest rates pause, one expert says the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) must "take responsibility for poor insight", calling for more holds.

The RBA has left interest rates on hold at 4.1 per cent, but warned more hikes will be needed to bring inflation down to the target of under 3 per cent.

Inflation is still tracking at a quarterly-posted level of 7 per cent.

Despite the pause, many economists are forecasting another rate rise in August, a prediction backed by the big four banks.

Westpac, NAB and ANZ have previously predicted a peak 4.6 per cent by August, while CBA is a little more optimistic with a peak of 4.35 per cent.

In the last 14 months, there have been 12 rate rises, and two holds.

Peter White AM, manager director of the Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA), said one pause is just "not enough" to curb the pain of successive rate hikes.

"The RBA must take responsibility for their poor insight and management that has led to the current issues facing those across Australia who are paying off a home loan and renting," White said.

"The Government must also act to monitor banks, some of which are exploiting the interest rate rises to maximise profits, indicating that they learnt nothing from the Royal Commission.

"Many mortgage holders are finding it difficult to refinance. Other vulnerable borrowers are being lured by banks into what they believe is a better interest rate deal, only to find that their rate and payments increase once they are deemed an 'existing' borrower."