Meet the central banker who might never raise rates

Rate stays: Lowe arrives at a hearing before the House of Representatives economics committee in Canberra. He says the RBA is unlikely to raise its benchmark interest rate until 2024 at the earliest. — Bloomberg

PHILIP Lowe could become Australia’s first central bank governor in the modern era to never raise rates. That’s more than a tidbit to tuck away for trivia night: We’re looking at a new template for monetary policymakers worldwide in the aftermath of Covid-19.

On Tuesday, Lowe said the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is unlikely to raise its benchmark interest rate until 2024 at the earliest. That would punt a prospective increase beyond the expiration of his seven-year term in 2023. Technically, Lowe’s tenure can be extended by the government, but even then, any rate increase is years away. For good measure, the RBA extended its quantitative easing programme, too.