CreditorWatch Chief Economist Harley Dale presents economic briefing at the 2021 Australian Mortgage Innovation Summit

Wednesday, 24 February 2021: CreditorWatch Chief Economist, Harley Dale, has led proceedings at today’s Australian Mortgage Innovation Summit (AMIS) with an opening keynote presentation on the state of the economy in 2021.Harley offered a 30-minute overview at the event regarding the ongoing impact of COVID-19 on Australian businesses, the labour market, and the global and political impacts on the economy.He paid particular attention to the best performing and most affected industries as reported by unique trade payment data from the monthly CreditorWatch Business Risk Review. According to CreditorWatch data, 11 out of 19 industry groups reported an increase in the time it took to pay their bills in January 2021, when compared to January 2020.Harley Dale says:“We’re in for a bumpy 2021 as there is considerable uncertainty surrounding the COVID vaccine rollout, the end of JobKeeper and JobSeeker, together with Australia’s fractious relationship with China. These factors all have the ability to affect economic stability and business confidence in 2021.“It’s not all doom and gloom. There are plenty of positives to recognise early on in the year, including Australia’s recovery post COVID-19 when compared to the rest of the world. Australia’s unemployment rate in December 2020 was 6.7%, which was substantially lower than many initially feared.”The theme for the 2021 RFi event was “Innovate, Grow, Thrive – Mortgage Outlook in a Low-Rate Environment”. Harley joined several local and international speakers at the virtual summit to discuss the Australian mortgage landscape and new opportunities made possible by digitalisation, changing regulations and a never-seen-before low-interest market.“We have a super low-interest rate environment which will persist for some years, but then we have unemployment at a much higher rate than the 5.1 per cent observable in early 2020. This dichotomy encapsulates the challenges and opportunities the Australian economy will face in 2021,” says Harley.“Let us not forget the opportunities. Yes, there will be a considerable number of bankruptcies and insolvencies once the JobKeeper program ends on March 28^th. Many businesses have had to become leaner and meaner, brought on by the substantial weakening in economic activity due to COVID in 2020. However, with fresh acumen and new business models, these companies have the potential to thrive in 2021 and beyond as the Australian economy recovers.”-END- Media Contacts:Hayley SchubertSling & Stonehayleyschubert@slingstone.com0431 651 418Mitchy KoperGM Communications and Marketing, CreditorWatchmitchy.koper@creditorwatch.com.au0417 771 778 About CreditorWatchCreditorWatch is a digital credit reporting agency, headquartered in Sydney. From sole traders through to ASX listed companies, more than 50,000 Australian businesses now use CreditorWatch to make affordable, informed credit decisions, avoid high-risk customers and ensure they get paid on time. CreditorWatch customers can easily search for and monitor the credit history, court actions, payment defaults and insolvency notices associated with any business entity in Australia (including sole traders, trusts and partnerships) giving them an incredibly accurate picture of the risk posed to their business.The company was founded in 2011 and has offices in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Find out more at www.creditorwatch.com.au.