NewsBite

Mortgage brokers

November

Liberal Damien Tudehope.

Mortgage brokers back NSW payroll tax inquiry

A NSW parliamentary committee will examine retrospective application of payroll tax laws widened by courts which has angered companies using contractors.

  • James Eyers
A CBA ATM in Hay, NSW, on Sunday. CBA has put a moratorium on closing any more regional branches.

Macquarie, Westpac and CBA big losers from $350m rural bank levy

Confidential details shared with industry participants show the size of the cost to the biggest lenders as Treasury attempts to keep regional branches open.

  • Updated
  • John Kehoe and Joshua Peach

October

The big four banks should be the big five as far as mortgage competition is concerned.

Mortgage wars rumble as Macquarie has a crack at fixed rates

There are easier ways for bankers to make a buck than selling fixed-rate mortgages, yet Macquarie is trying its luck.

  • Anthony Macdonald
Tax policy restrictions on housing investors would be a negative for investors in Westpac and CBA, says Citi.

Negative gearing changes would be a drag on bank stocks: analysts

Citi examined restrictions on housing investor tax settings in New Zealand, and Australia in the 1980s, and found they helped rents go up.

  • James Eyers
Mortgage brokers say NSW payroll tax claims will impact access to finance for first time buyers.

Mortgage brokers go to war with NSW over tax grab

Moves by the state to levy payroll tax on aggregators connecting mortgage brokers with lenders will force some of them to quit the industry.

  • James Eyers
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NAB has told Senators APRA serviceability buffer could be reduced for first time borrowers.

NAB calls for lower home loan buffer to help first-time buyers

In a submission to the Senate inquiry, NAB says dropping HECS-HELP debt from serviceability calculations for first home buyers would boost borrowing capacity.

  • James Eyers
CBA chief executive Matt Comyn at the Trans-Tasman Business Circle lunch in Sydney on Tuesday.

Buffer or blocker? Why APRA’s serviceability rule is so controversial

CBA boss Matt Comyn has defended APRA’s prudential settings from political attacks, saying housing policy must focus on supply.

  • James Eyers

September

ING Australia chief executive Melanie Evans.

ING not afraid to use home loan brokers to catch Bendigo and Adelaide

The Dutch-owned bank writes between “85 and 90 per cent” of its new mortgages via the broking channel in Australia, says chief executive Melanie Evans.

  • Lucas Baird

With tax reform, there’s too much diagnosis and too few solutions

Readers’ letters on a better tax system; mortgage brokers; climate change; tradies’ pay; unpaid super; David Rowe’s cartoons; and the best auction tip.

August

Mortgage broker pay should attract more scrutiny: Comyn

The chief executive of the country’s largest lender says mortgage brokers who write the majority of loans “don’t have any controls” on pay at all.

  • Lucas Baird and James Eyers

July

‘Risks elevated’: APRA holds banks’ mortgage rate buffer at 3pc

APRA said an uncertain economy, geopolitical instability, high household debt and inflation remain key risks for banks, compelling it to keep the loan buffer intact.

  • Updated
  • James Eyers and Jonathan Shapiro
Barrenjoey has made suggestions to help young Australians sustainably enter the housing market.

Trim mortgage ‘risk weights’ to help first home buyers: Barrenjoey

Barrenjoey called on APRA to allow banks to reduce mortgage “risk weightings” for first-time borrowers and for ASIC to drop HECS debt from responsible lending.

  • James Eyers
Homeowner pain. About one in 40 owner-occupiers with loan-to-value ratios above 80 per cent were more than 90 days behind on their mortgage in May.

One in 40 highly indebted homeowners are behind on their mortgage

Banks expect home loan arrears to increase further as more borrowers struggle to deal with high interest rates and cost-of-living pressures.

  • Updated
  • Michael Read
National Australia Bank has been growing mortgages the slowest of the majors, with annualised growth of just 0.5 per cent.

Rising interest rates are bad news for bank stocks

Another cash rate increase would do more damage to arrears than it would help net interest margins, according to Morgan Stanley.

  • James Eyers

June

ANZ, along with other major banks, are warning that mortgage lending is increasingly restricted to the very wealthy.

Lending rules ‘locking out’ house buyers: ANZ CEO

The banks have become increasingly strident in their criticism of lending rules, warning it is preventing access to home loans except for the wealthy.

  • James Eyers
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Boomers continue to cop flak from younger generations, much of it unfairly.

Criticism of ‘stingy’ Baby Boomers misses the point

Readers’ letters on generational attacks; the “war” between banks and mortgage brokers; robots and the Great Barrier Reef; Grant Hackett’s leadership; and Pauline Hanson’s silence.

May

There is a case for imposing a levy on carbon emissions.

A carbon tax and dividend scheme could be the answer

Readers’ letters on the pressing need for a carbon tax; why we shouldn’t fear AI; in defence of mortgage brokers; and the reality of climate change.

Positioning banks as competing with brokers is like saying Hilton hotels is competing with travel agents, instead of Hyatt and Sofitel.

Banks are at war with each other, not mortgage brokers

The major lenders’ market share is not being ‘taken’ by the mortgage broking industry. It is being taken by more than 100 other lenders in the market.

  • Anja Pannek
Westpac is also facing scrutiny from the prudential regulator over the actions of former RAMS franchisees

Westpac’s RAMS faces ASIC, APRA blowtorch

ASIC has been investigating the big four-owned group and its franchisees since at least September 2023.

  • Lucas Baird
Mortgage brokers have been increasingly successful in a competitive market, as the number of applications falls on higher interest rates.

Banks gear up to take back mortgage market from brokers

The country’s largest lenders are preparing to claim back territory lost to the mortgage broking industry.

  • Karen Maley

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/mortgage-brokers-1mra