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An analysis conducted by Statista and commissioned by online asset finance broker and comparisons website Savvy has examined mortgage lending market share between Australian banks.
Mortgage debt was on a steady incline last year, topping out at $2 trillion, according to the report, which pulls from a range of consumer survey and reports from Statista, APRA and Canstar, among other sources.
CBA remained the dominant player, with a 25.90 per cent share, up from 25.54 per cent the year before, the analysts outlined.
Westpac followed, with 22.5 per cent of the market, down by 0.8 percentage points, while ANZ had managed to climb by 0.43 percentage points to 14.54 per cent.
NAB’s share had slimmed by 0.5 percentage points to 14.4 per cent of the market.
The Savvy analysis noted the market share climbs and falls in the big four ranks were “marginal at best”, but there seems to be a dominant pair in the market.
“As seen in the market share and holdings of the Commonwealth Bank and Westpac, it seems like there is the ‘Bigger 2’ – owning 48.39 per cent of the market – and the ‘Big 2’ of NAB and ANZ on a distant second with a combined 28.97 per cent,” the report said.
“Though financial analysts and commentators regularly refer to ANZ, CommBank, NAB, and Westpac as the big four banks, it would be more accurate to separate CommBank and Westpac as the ‘Bigger 2.’”
Meanwhile, Macquarie Bank managed one of the biggest moves over the year, at least proportional to its size, rising by over 28 per cent, to 3.32 per cent of the market - the highest for any of the banks measured. In comparison, CBA’s market share only rose by around 0.6 per cent, Westpac and NAB were down by 3 per cent and ANZ’s share grew by 1.8 per cent.
Bendigo Bank similarly increased market share across the January 2020 to 2021 period, from 2.47 per cent to 2.68 per cent, while Suncorp declined from 2.48 per cent to 2.34 per cent.
ING’s market share slipped by 5 percentage points, to 2.91 per cent, according to the Savvy report.
Bank of Queensland was somewhat consistent, at 1.61 per cent of the market (compared to 1.6 per cent the year before) and HSBC flatlined at 1.23 per cent.
The “other” category, which included small credit unions, non-bank lenders, and alternative funding sources stayed somewhat consistent year-on-year (down 0.02 per cent).
Looking at the owner-occupier and investor books, CBA topped the banks in owner-occupier, with $308.7 billion in the segment, out of its total $467.9 billion in mortgage lending.
Westpac on the other hand held the largest investor portfolio, with $176.6 billion in loans, compared to CBA’s $159.2 billion.
Meanwhile ANZ and NAB were at similar levels, with ANZ lending $262.7 billion in total and NAB $260.9 billion.
The “lower six” held about $174.9 billion combined in owner-occupier mortgages – barely even reaching the levels of the big four.
The “other” category held $118.7 billion in owner-occupier mortgages and $36.1 billion in investor housing, a total of $154.8 billion – almost as much as the lower six banks.
The Savvy report noted that the Australian landscape is mirrored in countries with similar financial institutions, such as the UK, where Lloyds Banking Group and Nationwide BS are the “Bigger 2”, while NatWest Group, Santander UK and Barclays are the “Big 3” underneath.
But while the Australian government banned exorbitant mortgage exit fees in 2011 and borrowers should have been encouraged to refinance to more competitive lenders, it hasn’t really happened, Savvy chief executive Bill Tsouvalas said.
According to the report, 11 per cent of mortgage holders switched lenders for a better deal over 2021.
“What’s incredible to me, having spent the bulk [of] my career in personal finance, is that 65 per cent of Australians haven’t switched and have no intention to switch,” Mr Tsouvalas said.
“This is buoyed by the fact that 28 per cent of respondents to that survey said they successfully negotiated a better rate with their current bank or lender, which is a positive sign that banks are aware of the competitive nature of the mortgage market and will attempt to accommodate the needs of their customers.”
The data from the Savvy report counters more recent APRA data, which has shown the movements in the banks’ home loan books over March.
*Note from the editor: Following a correction to the core data sources from Savvy, this story was updated to correct the reported figures and reflect that Macquarie Bank had increased market share, not decreased - as initially reported.
[Related: ANZ home loan book continues to slide]
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