Aus bank's shock finding ahead of ‘six' rate cuts

News.com.au

13-05-2025

An Aussie bank has made a shock finding as the country braces for the equivalent of six rate cuts ahead.
A Ubank study has found half of young Aussies still believe they'll own a home despite money being a top worry – with rising numbers using AI to budget and save to take advantage of softer lending conditions ahead.
Conducted by NAB Behavioural Economics on behalf of the big four bank's digital counterpart Ubank found 55 per cent of 18 to 35-year-olds were positive they'd own a home – and also more optimistic about their financial future than older generations.
How NRL stars are banking an off-field fortune
This as the latest NAB Monetary Policy Update predicted 150 points worth of cuts to the cash rate target by the Reserve Bank by February next year to 2.6 per cent – with the first being a double rate slash (50bp) on May 20 when the RBA board meets, followed by 25 bps in July, August, November and February.
The study found 54pc of young Aussies were confident they'd have enough money to save and invest, 60pc positive they'd work in a field they enjoy and 61pc believe they'll find a well-paying job.
Across the generations, cost of living was the biggest concern for 65pc of 18-25 year olds, 79pc of 26-35 year olds, and 83pc for those aged 46-55, while housing access and affordability was a worry for 51pc of those surveyed across the board.
MORE: Big bank's major rates call ahead of RBA
Ubank's chief customer experience officer Andrew Morrison said the optimism of young people was not a surprise, with the bank seeing one in five customers take up automated help build budgeting and savings habits like their app's 'split income' feature for pay cheques into spend, save, bills, counting down the pay cycle, and alerting users over their spending footprint.
'Having a realistic budget in place is a powerful ally when you need to save for a deposit,' he said. 'You can do a lot of this on your phone in the Ubank app and keep it fun by adding emojis and giving your goal a nickname to personalise your digital banking.'
Mr Morrison said younger people 'realise they're up against challenges, they're determined to succeed in life, and it's great to see the research shine a light on all the positive traits that define this generation.'
Steven Uspensky, 26, is among those who scrimped and saved to secure his first home – a three-bedroom house in Crestmead, Logan, bought for $630,000 in March this year.
'I started saving when I first got a job and it took a while to save a large amount and a lot of self-control and discipline to see the bigger picture of becoming a homeowner. It is all about delayed gratification,' he said.
'Saving for a deposit is difficult. It took self-control and I had to say 'no' to long overseas travel trips, expensive weekends away and trade them for more budget friendly and sensible options. I did allow myself to spend within limits but I made sure I did not overspend.'
Mr Uspensky said there was a lot of pressure to spend money. 'You just need to see past it and think of your goals and remember, just because you have the money in your account does not mean you need to spend it.'
He urged others to find out their figures from the bank and how much they could borrow as a starting point into property.
'It is easier than people think to buy a house/property.'
'When I bought my house, my brother and a mate also bought a property within a month of me. I have also inspired other friends of mine in the process to have a look for themselves and to try and get into the market.'