Lender

The major bank’s margins were squeezed by competitive pressures in the home loan landscape, as its book grew by 3 per cent in the 2021 financial year.

A mutual bank has revealed that it had completed the legal transfer to finalise a merger with a credit union.

The non-major bank saw its home loan portfolio grow 14 per cent to $76.4 billion in the six months ended September 2021, according to its half-year results.

Fewer borrowers are now requiring financial assistance to meet their loan repayments, according to the banking association.

The major bank has singled out improving its home loans growth after a shaky year as its primary concern, while hinting at a new digital offering.

Several banks have confirmed that they will be assessing new mortgages at the elevated serviceability buffers from today (29 October), ahead of the Monday (1 November) implementation date.

A new survey, including 54 Australian lender leaders, has found that 60 per cent wish to leverage new data to determine credit risk.

The major bank has confirmed that one of its non-executive directors has made the decision to step down.

The Australian Finance Industry Association has called for comprehensive credit reporting to be extended to smaller specialist lenders and fintechs, in order to boost competition.

Consumer credit demand has lifted year-on-year ahead of Christmas, with an index recording a 13.1 per cent rise in home loan applications.