ME Bank winning on fixed rates

The lender held a 10.3 per cent share of the fixed-rate market in June this year, up from 1 per cent in July 2013, according to the latest AFG Competition Index.

Released Tuesday, the index notes that while non-majors made little to no headway against the big four, all lenders are choosing to focus on specific market segments.

In the first home buyer segment, ANZ grew its share from 9.4 per cent in July 2013 to 12.0 per cent by June 2014.

Bank of Queensland was also strong in the FHB market, particularly over the last six months – the regional lender’s share of FHB loans grew from 1.8 per cent of the market in January to 6.4 per cent last month.

Macquarie Bank showed strong growth in the refinance segment, increasing its share from 7.8 per cent in July 2013 to 10.0 per cent in June 2014.

“On the surface competition appears as strong as any time in the last 20 years,” AFG general manager of sales and operations Mark Hewitt said.

“However the reality is that the major banks and their subsidiary brands continue to dominate and non-majors have made little or no headway in the past 12 months,” he said.

The collective market share of non-major lenders was 26.3 per cent in July 2013 and 25.2 per cent in June 2014, according to AFG.