Archive for April 2018

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) today announced plans to remove the investor loan growth benchmark and replace it with more permanent measures to strengthen lending standards. The 10 per cent benchmark on investor loan growth was a temporary measure, introduced in 2014 as part of a range of actions to reduce higher risk lending…

This article originally appeared on Australian Broker on 24/4/2018. More than half of mortgage brokers are not concerned about increased competition from online broking platforms, according to a recent survey. Despite this, almost a third of respondents said they were looking to improve the digital capabilities of their businesses. The survey was completed by MyState…

This is a speech given by Christopher Kent on 24/4/2018. Introduction I’d like to thank the Housing Industry Association for the opportunity to speak to you about the role of interest-only loans. Mortgages on interest-only terms have become an increasingly prominent part of Australian housing finance over the past decade. At their recent peak, they…

This article originally appeared on Financial Times on 18/4/2018. The world’s $164tn debt pile is bigger than at the height of the financial crisis a decade ago, the IMF has warned, sounding the alarm on excessive global borrowing. The fund said the private and public sectors urgently needed to cut debt levels to improve the…

This article originally appeared on Mortgage Business, written by Andrew Way. Published on 12/2/2018. There has been a great deal of speculation around the movement of the RBA cash rate in 2018, with one publication showing 81 per cent of its panel predicting a rise as early as May 2018. While there is no doubt the…

This article originally appeared on Mortgage Business on 19/4/18. A mortgage industry leader has defended the non-bank sector amid growing concerns that alternative lenders could come under scrutiny as the royal commission continues to unearth evidence of misconduct. Last month’s royal commission hearings saw executives from the big four banks and major brokerages Aussie Home…

This is an extract from the Reserve Bank of Australia’s recent Financial Stability Review, published April 2018. Interest-only (IO) loans account for a sizeable and growing share of total housing credit in Australia, now representing around 23 per cent of owner-occupier lending and 64 per cent of investor lending (Graph B1). IO lending has the…

This article originally appeared on Mortgage Business on 6/4/2018. The behaviour of the big four banks “resembles synchronised swimming” and is not conducive to “vigorous competition”, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. Chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Rod Sims has compared the mortgage pricing behaviour of the big four…

This is a speech from Wayne Byres, Chairman of APRA, given at the AFR Banking & Wealth Summit 2018, Sydney.   Good morning everyone. I’ve had the pleasure of being at each of the past AFR Banking & Wealth Summits, and they have always generated interesting and thought-provoking discussions. As the first speaker this morning,…