Major banks show mixed growth in August

The latest Monthly Authorised Deposit-taking Institution Statistics (MADIS) for August has shown a slight acceleration in the monthly change in the growth of Australia’s banks, according to the Australian Prudential and Regulation Authority (APRA).

The total loan book for Australian ADIs rose to $2.23 trillion in August, up by $8.8 billion or 0.4 per cent on the previous month.

This has revealed a slight recovery in the pace of growth as seen in recent months, after loan books grew by $6.77 billion (0.31 per cent) between June and July, almost half of the pace of growth when compared to May and June (which rose by 0.7 per cent).

The share of owner-occupier loans held by ADIs is at $1.51 trillion, up by $5.9 billion (0.39 per cent) when compared to July.

Investor loans grew by the same percentage amount of 0.39 per cent, up by $2.8 billion from $711 billion to $714 billion.

Since the beginning of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s (RBA) rate hikes in May 2022, the total loan book of Australia’s banks has grown by 12.5 per cent, up by $248.1 billion.

Divergence among the major banks

The standout statistic among the big four was seen in Westpac’s loan book, which experienced its first total loan book decline since October 2020.

Australia’s second-largest bank, with market share of 21.3 per cent, saw its total loan book decline by $277 million (0.1 per cent), although it held steady at $475 billion. This followed marginal growth in its owner-occupier loan book of 0.03 per cent the month prior and a 0.05 per cent decline in its investor book.

NAB, on the other hand, managed to recover losses recorded in July, with a $301 million increase to its residential mortgages (0.1 per cent), rising from $319 billion to $320.3 billion in August.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) maintained its grip on the majority market share of 25.3 per cent, closing out August with a total loan book of $564.3 billion, showing a rise of $2.9 billion (0.5 per cent), representing the strongest increase in dollar terms for the month.

ANZ had the largest monthly change in percentage terms, with its total book growing by 0.6 per cent or $1.7 billion (not including the recently acquired loan book from Suncorp Bank), reaching $303.2 billion, up from $301 billion.

[RELATED: Aussie banks’ loan book growth dwindles]

Adrian Suljanovic is a journalist at Broker Daily with more than two years experience reporting on all facets of the third party distribution channel.

Adrian has written for a range of business and finance titles including IFA, Investor Daily and Lawyer’s Weekly before joining the mortgages team in 2022.

He graduated from the University of Wollongong in 2021 gaining a Bachelor of Communication & Media with a major in Digital & Social Media.

E-mail Adrian at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.