Australian central bank governor Philip Lowe has apologised to people who took out mortgages based on the bank’s initial guidance that interest rates were likely to stay unchanged until 2024.

“I’m sorry that people listened to what we’ve said and acted on that, and now find themselves in a position they don’t want to be in,” Lowe said when answering questions at a Senate hearing.

The head of the Reserve Bank of Australia began signalling in late 2020 that the bank was likely to hold the cash