The latest Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) Weekly economic report reveals that the banking giant continues to forecast two rate cuts by the Reserve Bank in 2020.
Its economics team has pencilled in a cut to 0.5% in April and then a further cut to 0.25% in August.
Whilst this will be very good news for borrowers, it will be disappointing for savers and income investors.
But don't worry if you're in the latter group, because these top dividend shares can help you smash low interest rates:
BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP)
I think BHP could be a good option for income investors that are looking for exposure to the resources sector. As long as the coronavirus outbreak doesn't stifle global economic growth, I expect demand for many of the commodities it produces to remain robust over the coming years and support favourable prices. And thanks to its low costs, I expect this to lead to strong free cash flow generation. This was certainly the case earlier this week when it released its half year result and declared a fully franked 65 US cents per share interim dividend. Based on this, I estimate that its shares offer a forward 5.5% dividend yield.
National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB)
If you don't already have exposure to the banking sector, then I think it could be worth considering an investment in NAB's shares. Especially after the release of a stronger than expected first quarter update last week. I believe this update demonstrated just how robust its business is. The good news is that I expect more of the same over the remainder of FY 2020 and into FY 2021 thanks to its overweight exposure to SME lending, the improving housing market, and its broadly flat expense target. In FY 2020 I expect NAB to pay a $1.66 per share fully franked dividend. This equates to a dividend yield of almost 6.1%.
