The Reserve Bank’s policy pause on Tuesday will be temporary and is likely to be followed by two additional cash rate increases in the coming months as the central bank continues to battle inflation and a resilient economy, said National Australia Bank CEO Ross McEwan.

Mr McEwan also said NAB remains comfortable at growing mortgages below the average growth of the market, given cutthroat competition has seen home loan returns fall below the cost of capital. He prefers allocating capital to business lending, which is more profitable.