Auswide home loans up by 5.2%

Auswide Bank has unveiled its results for the first half of the financial year, ended 31 December 2021, revealing year-on-year growth in both its loan book and net profit. 

The non-major bank saw its loan book reach $3.74 billion, reflecting an annual growth of 8.7 per cent. 

The bulk of this was driven by a rise in home loans, increasing year-on-year from $3.43 billion to $3.61 billion, in turn making up for losses in both the business and consumer loans divisions.

The business lending segment dropped by 12 per cent to a total of $86 million, while consumer loans were down by 14 per cent to $54 million. 

Most of the overall lending growth was centred in Queensland, which accounted for 70 per cent of the total loan book. 

However, Auswide experienced an albeit marginal pivot towards the rest of Australia, with growth in NSW (70 basis points to 14.1 per cent), Victoria (50 basis points to 9.8 per cent), Western Australia, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania (a combined 20 basis points to 6.1 per cent). 

Home loan settlements also hit “record highs”, increasing by 6.5 per cent to $561.5 million.

As confirmed by Auswide, 73 per cent of all loans were accomplished through third party, with 27 per cent done via traditional lending and Auswide’s private bank. 

Compared to 12 months earlier, this ratio was 72 per cent to 28 per cent. 

Auswide chief customer officer Damian Hearne told Mortgage Business that the bank is investing in its broker channel with intentions to digitise the space. 

The loan book momentum, in combination with Auswide’s private bank business, contributed to a rise in the bank’s statutory net profit after tax, which jumped by 19.4 per cent year-on-year to $13.7 million.

However, there had been a slight decline in the net interest margin, which slipped by 1 basis point between the end of the financial year 2021 and 31 December 2021. 

Speaking last year on Auswide’s FY21 results, Martin Barrett, the bank’s chief executive and managing director said the broker channel proved itself as Auswide’s “most significant growth opportunity”. 

He pointed to how the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) had introduced the bank to a larger pool of younger customers and brokers.

This continued into FY22, with Auswide stating that the attraction of a “younger generation of customers engaged in the home buying journey, including first home buyers, investors and upgraders across the Eastern seaboard” is part of the bank’s overall digital strategy. 

Speaking on the latest results, Mr Barrett commented that Auswide is “consistently focused on making improvements within its back-end processes and turnaround times” to improve all of its offerings.

[Related: Auswide targets brokers, HNWs for next growth phase]