There has been a lot of hubbub around the traps of late about borrowers having access to some great deals due to revitalised competition in the finance sector. But while this might have brought a smug smile of self importance to Wayne Swan’s face, many smaller lenders are not quite so jovial.

Yes, there is a battle being waged for your business; that I won’t deny. But the reality is, while the big four boys are stomping around, making lots of noise and flexing their lending muscles, the little guys are struggling to be heard.

With the cost of living increasing significantly in recent times and interest rates hitting Aussie working families hard in the hip pocket, you’d think a nice little top up of the weekly wages would be welcome news.

But experts are warning that Fair Work Australia’s latest offering of a 3.4 per cent pay rise for the 1.4 million odd workers on award wages, along with an expected boost in mining sector wages off the back of the resources boom, could actually cost us all more in the long run.

Some would consider it discrimination…and in a way, they’d be right. It seems banks are taking the old adage; “Never work with children or animals” – on board and slashing the amount they’ll lend to couples with children as opposed to childless applicants.

It’s not that the banks don’t like kids, it’s just that new legislation introduced as at January 1st this year dictates that banks must practice “responsible lending”. In other words, they have to do everything in their power to ensure borrowers have the capacity to meet their monthly repayments.

With incessant talk of interest rates in the news on a daily basis and constant speculation as to will they or won’t they go up, if they do – when will it happen and why, what state is the economy in with regard to that all important inflation issue and blah, blah, blah, blah….

Sorry, did I lose you for a minute there? Not surprised really given the findings of a recent report that revealed almost one in three borrowers have no idea what interest rate they are being charged by their lender as they become rate fatigued. Understandably, many have switched off and put this little topic in the too hard basket, or perhaps more aptly, the “Do I really have to think about this?” basket.