Bank takes home loans to Westfield

ANZ this week continued its expansion in NSW by opening Australia’s first dedicated Home Loan Centre at Westfield in Parramatta. The centre will provide customers with a specialist service to improve the process of obtaining a home loan.

ANZ managing director of retail distribution Australia, Catriona Noble, said the bank understands that buying a house is usually the single biggest investment people make and ANZ is looking to remove some of the stress associated with organising a home loan.

“By creating a dedicated space for home loans, customers will have access to a team of specialists in an environment not usually associated with a bank,” Ms Noble said.

“We’ve designed this to look and feel like a typical home and we’re confident this will resonate strongly with our customers.”

ANZ has two Home Loan Centres in New Zealand that have successfully helped thousands of New Zealanders into a new home since late 2014.

“We expect our centre in Western Sydney to be equally well received,” Ms Noble said.

The launch coincides with the 180th anniversary of the first ANZ branch opening in New South Wales and is part of ANZ’s strategy to grow its market share in New South Wales, with almost 500 new jobs to be established by the end of 2016.

“As the fifth biggest economy in Australia, Western Sydney drives much of Sydney’s growth and remains one of our most important markets,” Ms Noble said.

“The region is already home to more than two million people and we want our customers in Western Sydney to know that we are ready to support them.”

In addition to the Parramatta Home Loan Centre, in the past 12 months ANZ has opened two new business centres and two new branches, while refurbishing 21 existing branches across New South Wales.

Over the 12 months to March this year, ANZ bolstered its network of mobile loan writers by 43 per cent.

In NSW, ANZ increased its number of mobile lenders by 50 per cent over the period.

In the 12 months to the half year 2015, the major bank recorded a 28.4 per cent increase in home loan growth from $6.7 billion to $8.6 billion.

Unlike its closest competitors, CBA, NAB and Westpac, ANZ has chosen not to acquire mortgage broker businesses as part of its strategy, instead focusing on building a network of accredited loan writers.

Moving forward, ANZ chief executive Mike Smith said that the bank is looking to target areas that will boost profitability.

“This includes a focus on key segments such as home lending and commercial banking in geographies and segments where we are underweight such as New South Wales,” he said.

[Related: ANZ chief singles out strong mortgage performance]