RBA Deputy Governor Guy Debelle told Senate that the first recession in 30 years could have already ended in Q3. “At the moment our best guess is it looks like the economy probably recorded positive growth rather than negative,” he said. “The strength elsewhere in the country was more than the drag from Victoria, and possibly the drag from Victoria was a little less than what we had guessed.”
Separately, Assistant Governor Michele Bullock said the Australian financial system “remains profitable, notwithstanding substantial loan loss provisions”. Their “strong capital position allows them to continue to lend to support the Australian economy.” But she also warned warned that “the economic recovery is expected to be unpredictable and uneven so there will be rising business insolvencies and problems for some households in servicing their debts.”
