A growing number of retail bank customers are telling lenders they are anxious about the future, as the cost of living – including soaring mortgage repayments – starts to bite.

The Australian Financial Review Editors Forum, with the four heads of retail in the major banks, heard the jump in jittery customers is forcing lenders to respond, including by advising over-indebted households on ways to cut discretionary spending to ensure mortgage repayments are prioritised. They also hope the Reserve Bank of Australia’s higher interest rates are not prolonged and unemployment remains low.