The RBA has come out with a statement that confirms what I have been saying on here for a while, that the banks are using the GFC as a cover for increasing their profits by increasing the margin between the cash rate and their loan rates. The SMH says:

In an analysis of bank interest rate movements, the RBA has said the major banks were the worst offenders when it came to excess pricing, with lending rates outpacing rises in funding costs by as much as 25 basis points since the onset of the credit crisis, equal to billions of dollars in additional revenue.

I have used this graph before. It is from Feb 2010. I have another graph somewhere and I will try to find it to show the actual increases in the gap.

This shows how the banks have increased the margin between the RBA rate and their Standard Variable Rate.

Will they ever return it to the level it used to be? Not bloody likely when they just want bigger and bigger profits.