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

As the mortgage landscape undergoes rapid digital transformation, lenders are increasingly leveraging automation, AI, and insurance to deliver a more seamless, efficient experience for brokers and their clients.

In this episode of In Focus, sponsored by First Title, Annie Kane speaks with Chris Evans, general manager of sales and relationships at First Title, and Darren McLeod, head of third party and lending solutions at Beyond Bank, to unpack how innovation in lending technology is reducing friction in the settlement process and helping lenders scale consistently.

Tune in to find out:

• How First Title is helping lenders process a refinance within a single day.
• The importance of high-quality API data in ensuring a human-touch-free journey from approval to funding.
• First Title's move to overcome the certificate of currency delays.

And much more!

Welcome to The Adviser's What's Making Headlines podcast, your go-to source for the week's biggest stories in finance and real estate, distilled into bite-sized insights.

Join host Charlie Tchetchenian, commercial content writer Ben Squires, and Julian Barnes, senior journalist on Broker Daily, as they review the news of the week.

This week, they discuss:

• How brokers have responded to the RBA's latest cash rate decision.
• Senate report on the CGT discount plus a surge in low-deposit lending.
• APRA highlighting the "widening structural divide" in the mutual banking sector.

And much more!