INTEREST RATES OUTLOOK

RBA HOLDS AT 5.5%
The board of the Reserve Bank of Australia has held firm with the basic cash interest rate remaining at 5.5 percent for the fourth month. This was in line with the view of most economists who believe there will be no more increases this year.

AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY SNAPSHOT
The latest set of national accounts from Canberra show the Australian economy grew by a very modest 2 percent for the last quarter. The Federal Treasury investigations indicate this should rise to nearly 3 percent by the end of this year.

An encouraging set of figures comes from the latest consumer spending indicators which show both retail and private housing slightly increasing. The only black spot is in NSW housing where both new approvals and established prices maintain their downturn.

Last month's vehicle sales figures show more than 100,000 were sold in a single month. This was the first time monthly sales hit 6 figures and the industry is on track to set another annual record.

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THE OXFORD ADVANTAGE

DEBTOR FINANCING BOOM CONTINUES

The latest statistics from the Institute For Factors and Discounters show how Australian businesses are now coming more in-line with overseas trends in taking advantage of debtor financing. The March quarter 2005 figures continue to show significant growth.

The annualised growth rate of 28 percent continues, which has now been consistent for ten years. This large increase was equally shared among states with Victoria 35 percent, NSW 32 percent, Queensland 18 percent, Western Australia 8 percent and South Australia with Northern Territory 7 percent. Over 4,000 business in Australia now use Debtor Finance.

Commenting on the statistics, Oxford Funding’s Rob Lamers says “All graphs in this industry continue to trend very strongly in the one direction. This big upturn is because Debtor Financing offers small to medium sized enterprises the opportunity to accelerate their cash flow by providing a flexible line of credit linked to the level of the businesses accounts receivables."

"Just like in the USA and Europe, debtor finance is increasingly replacing less flexible options like the overdraft. The number of businesses using debtor finance has increased significantly over the past 10 years in Australia with industry turnover increasing from $3b to over $30b per annum."

”And Oxford Funding is leading the charge in this growth. We’ve based our business on continually releasing innovative products that have met with great success.” Lamers said.

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