What's Making Headlines – Can households handle higher rates?

Cost-of-living pressures and fuel supply chain constraints continue to weigh on the mortgage market following the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) second interest rate hike in 2026. This week, the central bank offered a glimpse at its thinking, noting most mortgagors still have sufficient buffers to withstand tougher conditions. But questions remain about how resilient households will be if rates rise further and fuel prices continue to spike. In this week's episode of The Adviser's What's Making Headlines podcast, Charlie Tchetchenian and Ben Squires analyse the RBA's March 2026 Financial Stability Review and what it signals for borrowers amid the latest inflation data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). They also review key developments across the mortgage and finance sector, including Recludo's latest acquisition, a Connective survey on broker AI adoption, and a warning from FICO's Corey Smith that the rise in fraudulent income documents and AI-generated paperwork has escalated the issue into what is now an industry-wide challenge. Enjoy the podcast,  The Adviser team