MORTGAGE LOANS – AUSTRALIA

NAB kills off scandal-plagued mortgage referral program

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 13 & 16 : 26-Mar-19

National Australia Bank has advised that it will end its controversial ‘loan introducer’ program from 1 October. The program sees non-bank employees receive a fee for referring home loan clients, with NAB stating in 2018 that it generates one out of every 20 mortgages written by the bank. NAB also says the program has generated around $2.4 billion worth of home loans, and that around $100 million in referral fees have been paid. Interim CEO and chairman-elect Philip Chronican says he wants customers to come to NAB because of its products and services, not because a third party receives a fee for endorsing it.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, KPMG AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, AUSTRALIA. ATTORNEY-GENERAL’S DEPT. AUSTRALIAN TRANSACTION REPORTS AND ANALYSIS CENTRE

Reserve urges stingy banks to open up the credit floodgates

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Original article by Paul Garvey, David Rogers
The Australian – Page: 19 & 29 : 21-Mar-19

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s assistant governor Michele Bullock has urged the nation’s banks to be less risk-averse with regard to mortgage lending. She has used an Urban Development Institute of Australia speech to argue that banks should relax their lending standards in the wake of the Hayne royal commission and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s move to ease restrictions on lending. Bullock added that a credit crunch in Australia is unlikely, but this could depend on the outlook for the housing market.

CORPORATES
RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY, URBAN DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN BANKING ASSOCIATION

Mortgage customers more satisfied dealing with banks than mortgage brokers

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 4-Mar-19

A Roy Morgan Single Source survey for the six months to January 2019 shows that home loan customers who obtained their loan in person at a bank branch had a satisfaction rating of 77.2%, compared to 75.1% for those who used a mortgage broker. Dealing in person with a mobile bank representative had the highest level of satisfaction, at 80.6%. It is important to note that even among more recent home loans (held for under six years), satisfaction with going to a branch to obtain the loan was 79.8%, compared to 77.7% for mortgage brokers. Among the largest home loan banks, St George has the highest satisfaction with loans obtained through mortgage brokers (83.9%), closely followed by Bankwest (81.0%). Satisfaction among those obtaining their home loan through a branch was the highest for Bendigo Bank with 89.6%, well ahead of St George on 79.6%. The Single Source survey is based on in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face with over 50,000 consumers per annum in their homes, including over 12,000 mortgage holders.

CORPORATES
ROY MORGAN LIMITED, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANKWEST, BENDIGO BANK

Westpac faces class action on loans

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Original article by Richard Gluyas
The Australian – Page: 24 : 22-Feb-19

Westpac intends to defend a class action launched by Maurice Blackburn on behalf of home loan customers. The law firm will contend that Westpac breached its responsible lending obligations by failing to sufficiently assess borrowers’ capacity to repay the loan and to verify information about their financial circumstances. Westpac had been subject to similar legal action by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission in 2018, and that case will return to court after a settlement was rejected by the presiding judge.

CORPORATES
WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, MAURICE BLACKBURN PTY LTD, AUSTRALIAN SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS COMMISSION, FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA

Comyn confident about house prices

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis, Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 21 : 7-Feb-19

The Commonwealth Bank has posted a 2018-19 interim cash profit of $4.77bn, which is 2.1 per cent lower than previously. Mortgage and business lending rose by four per cent and five per cent respectively during the half-year, while lending margins were affected by factors such as increased competition and rising funding costs. Meanwhile, CEO Matt Comyn forecasts that growth in housing credit will slow in 2019, although he does not anticipate a sharp decline in house prices.

CORPORATES
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, UBS HOLDINGS PTY LTD

Baird defends NAB interest rate hike

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 15 & 16 : 25-Jan-19

Sally Tindall of RateCity expects other major banks to increase their mortgage interest rates after National Australia Bank announced a rise in its rates for owner-occupiers and investors. NAB has indicated that a rise in wholesale funding costs was the main driver of the rate hike, but chief customer officer Mike Baird notes that it is the first increase in its standard variable interest rate since March 2017. NAB chose to leave its mortgage rates on hold when other banks lifted theirs in September.

CORPORATES
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, RATECITY PTY LTD, BANK OF QUEENSLAND LIMITED – ASX BOQ, VIRGIN MONEY (AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY

Open loan books, banks told

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Original article by Michael Roddan
The Australian – Page: 1 & 4 : 3-Jan-19

The national dwelling price fell by 4.8 per cent in 2018, according to data from CoreLogic, with prices in Sydney and Melbourne falling by 8.9 per cent and seven per cent respectively. Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the nation’s banks must continue to provide home buyers with access to credit, adding that Labor’s proposed negative gearing reforms would deepen the downturn in the housing market. Meanwhile, Shane Oliver of AMP Capital expects house prices in Sydney and Melbourne to fall by another 10 per cent in 2019.

CORPORATES
CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE TREASURY, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, AMP CAPITAL INVESTORS LIMITED, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, FINDER.COM.AU, BANKWEST, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, BANK OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIMITED

Banks turn off the investor tap

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Original article by Joyce Moullakis
The Australian – Page: 13 & 18 : 3-Jan-19

Data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that the nation’s four largest banks held $471.4bn worth of investor mortgage loans in the year to November 2018. This compares with $471.1bn for the same period in 2017. Westpac and National Australia Bank increased their investor loan books slightly, while the Commonwealth Bank and ANZ recorded declines. Meanwhile, Richard Wiles of Morgan Stanley says APRA’s recent move to abolish caps on interest-only loans is unlikely to boost the major banks’ growth in housing loans.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, MORGAN STANLEY AUSTRALIA LIMITED, BANKWEST, ST GEORGE BANK LIMITED, BANK OF MELBOURNE LIMITED, BANK OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA LIMITED, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, MST FINANCIAL SERVICES PTY LTD, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, COUNCIL OF FINANCIAL REGULATORS, CORELOGIC AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, P&N BANK, FINDER.COM.AU, MACQUARIE GROUP LIMITED – ASX MQG

New housing loans drop 7.4pc in quarter

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Original article by Samantha Bailey
The Australian – Page: 19 : 13-Dec-18

A new report from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority shows that $89.2bn worth of new mortgage loans were written in the September quarter, which is 7.4 per cent lower than previously. However, authorised deposit-taking institutions have reported a 5.4 per cent increase in the total value of housing loans in the year to September. Chris Bedingfield of Quay Global Investors says the annual rate of house construction is now too high, given that banks are tightening their lending criteria. He adds that the Reserve Bank is now more likely to reduce rather than raise the cash rate.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, QUAY GLOBAL INVESTORS, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA

ACCC hits big banks, ports, tech

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Original article by James Frost
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 1 & 8 : 11-Dec-18

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has concluded that the nation’s four major banks engaged in "synchronised pricing" with regard to increases in interest-only home loan interest rates in June 2017. The big four banks raised their interest rates following the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s decision in mid-March to cap interest-only loans at 30 per cent of all new loans from the September quarter. The ACCC estimates that the rate rises boosted the banks’ profits by around $1.1bn.

CORPORATES
AUSTRALIAN COMPETITION AND CONSUMER COMMISSION, AUSTRALIAN PRUDENTIAL REGULATION AUTHORITY, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LIMITED – ASX ANZ, COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA – ASX CBA, WESTPAC BANKING CORPORATION – ASX WBC, NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED – ASX NAB, AUSTRALIA. PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION, RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIA. ROYAL COMMISSION INTO MISCONDUCT IN THE BANKING, SUPERANNUATION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY