If you think Philip Lowe getting replaced as Reserve Bank of Australia boss means less chance of getting hit with an interest rate rise, you may want to hold off on celebrating.
Between Michele Bullock being named as the new RBA boss and Lowe announcing the recommendations of this year's government-commissioned review – including a drop from 11 interest rates meetings a year to eight – will be implemented, there are some significant changes on the way for the central bank.
Will these changes stop the RBA raising interest rates so much?
While everyone might want an easy answer here about whether rates will rise or fall more under the reformed RBA, the reality isn't quite so simple.
Dr Steve Kourabas, a senior lecturer at Monash Law School and Deputy Director of the Centre for Commercial Law and Regulatory Studies, says the changes aren't so much about interest rate decisions themselves, but more about how those decisions are reached.
"It's really about how the RBA makes its decisions on monetary policy, and what information it uses to come to those decisions and how it communicates those decisions," he told 9news.com.au.
"And so these reforms, how they'll potentially ultimately affect everyday people is that the hope is that they will make the correct decision regarding interest rates."
Kourabas pointed to a couple of recent examples where the reforms could have led to lower interest rates.
"There was some criticism of the RBA in the 2016-19 period where they were a bit reluctant to decrease interest rates," he says.
"The review found that potentially they could have decreased more willingly – that would have meant lower interest rates...
"Conversely, the current period they've been raising interest rates, and the review found that maybe they've been a bit too aggressive in that, which means that if the reforms take effect as anticipated, then we might have lower interest rates in a similar circumstance."
Could fewer rates meetings mean bigger rises?
From 2024, the RBA will make a decision on whether to raise, lower or pause interest rates eight times a year instead of the current 11.
One school of thought suggests that could lead to larger jumps in the cash rate given there are fewer chances to change it – something Bullock has alluded to in the past.
"There is a potential for that to happen because, as the incoming governor has said in the past, having the 11 meetings has allowed them to take a more incremental approach," Kourabas says.
However, he doesn't think bigger hikes – or falls – are guaranteed under the new structure.
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"There's nothing stopping the Reserve Bank calling a meeting if they think that there's a reason to have an emergency meeting outside of the eight," he says.
"Also, the move to eight is hoped to allow for greater time to see the effect of the interest rates rather than the monthly meeting.
"So it really depends on the view of the board at any particular time or whether they need to really go more aggressive or not in terms of an interest rate rise, and I'm not sure the cause will be eight or 11 meetings."
What about new governor Michele Bullock?
The appointment of current deputy governor Bullock to replace Lowe in the bank's top job has been widely welcomed – even though, having been with the RBA since 1985, it's led to questions about whether she can provide the bank with the shake-up recommended by the review.
"It's a tricky one," Kourabas says.
"I think that what's happened here is that the government needed to appoint someone who is independent and I think this appointment is that.
"I think that the main aim really was to shake up leadership at the RBA, and to potentially overcome some challenges associated with public perception of (Lowe)."
Where there likely won't be a shake-up because of that new leadership is the bank's approach to monetary policy.
"I would be surprised if there was a radical change in approach that arose purely because of her appointment," Kourabas says.
"The hope and expectation more is that the review and reforms will have that effect and that the new leader will be able to oversee those reforms."
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