Mortgage refinancing via phone app to cut ANZ costs

Dozens of customers have already refinanced their home loans via the new ANZ Plus app on their phones which could help the banking giant cut its current cost base.

The ANZ Plus is available to both iPhone and Android users.

ANZ is tipping it can save at least 20 per cent of its current mortgage costs with the rollout of home lending through the bank’s ANZ Plus platform.

On Monday ANZ launched capabilities for iPhone users to refinance their home loans through the bank’s ANZ Plus app, coming ten days after the bank launched the same offering for its Android users.

Already dozens of customers have refinanced their home loans in a movement the bank tips will save it considerably in the long run and may shave even more of its cost to income ratio.

ANZ has been among the most active participants in the mortgage wars, waged between Australia’s lenders in recent months as the bank’s fight it out for market share as low cost fixed rate loans taken out by Australians during the pandemic roll off.

But the mortgage melee has shaved ANZ’s margins on its lending, in a deterioration some in the banking industry said amounts to lending below the cost of capital.

ANZ retail group executive Maile Carnegie, a former Google executive charged with the rollout of ANZ Plus, said the bank was waiting to see just how low it could go in a bid to shave costs through its new lending platform.

Ms Carnegie said at a minimum ANZ Plus’ lending offered the potential of 20 per cent cost savings, which could cut even deeper if the bank were successful in building business.

This comes along with a 40 per cent lower cost to acquire customers through ANZ Plus.

She said ANZ would roll out more lending products in coming months, with an offset option set to hit the market next.

“It is merely just the beginning and you’re gonna see us rollout and expand the number of the eligibility over time,” Ms Carnegie said.

But lending to investors was low on the bank’s priorities, with a target of the tail end of 2025 for investor loans.

This would come as the bank looked to ramp up the rollout of ANZ Plus, pushing more customers off legacy platforms and on to its new banking environment.

Ms Carnegie said ANZ Plus had to sink or swim inside the broader group, keeping its own balance sheet within the bank.