The biggest mortgage news of 2023

Cash rate hits 11-year high

The official cash rate hitched up to 3.85 per cent in May, the highest level since 2012. The cash rate went on to grow to 4.35 per cent by the end of the year.

New RBA governor announced

The federal government revealed that Michele Bullock would take over the reins as governor of the Reserve Bank of Australia following Philip Lowe’s departure in September.

Major bank hit with $2.1m penalty

National Australia Bank (NAB) was slammed with a $2.1 million penalty for continuing to charge periodic payment fees despite the major bank knowing it was wrongfully overcharging customers.

Latitude hit by major cyber attack

ASX-listed lender Latitude Financial Group was hit by a cyber attack believed to have originated from a major vendor of the company. It had to turn away new customers as it dealt with the aftermath and had $76 million of pre-tax costs and provisions relating to it.

ANZ fined $15m for misleading customers

The major bank was ordered by the Federal Court to pay $15 million after it admitted to misleading nearly 166,000 customers over the level of funds in their credit card accounts between 2016 and 2021.

WA government offers land tax relief

The Western Australian state government moved to boost rental property supply in the state through a land tax exemption.

Victorian government dumps commercial stamp duty

The Victorian government confirmed its intention to abolish stamp duty replacing it with an annual property tax aimed at bolstering new housing development prospects.

Major bank unveils digital home loans

ANZ launched a new end-to-end digital home loan through its ANZ Plus mobile app. The digital home loan, available through iOS and Android, is currently only available to eligible owner-occupier applicants in metro NSW and Victoria for refinancing.

How could alleged mortgage Ponzi scheme go undiscovered?

Concerns were raised about the regulatory oversight of managed investment funds after the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner (VLSB+C) confirmed it was conducting a preliminary assessment into allegations that the principal of AMS Ivanhoe Lawyers, John Adams, may have misappropriated investment funds from first mortgage loans.

Revealed: Who attracts the most complaints in mortgages?

New data has revealed which banks, aggregators, non-bank lenders, and mortgage brokers are seeing the greatest number of complaints from borrowers.

What’s next for Connective?

ANALYSIS While Connective has successfully appealed some of the grounds of its shareholder dispute, the company will have a lot to tackle in 2024.