Mortgage arrears growth shows no signs of slowing

According to Standard & Poor’s Performance Index (SPIN), 1.21 per cent of prime residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) were in arrears during May – up from 1.14 per cent in April, and from 1.07 per cent 12 months prior.

“Most of the increase in arrears for the month was in the more severe category of 90-plus days overdue,” S&P noted.

“The larger upward movements were in the major banks and other bank categories, while non-bank financial institutions was the only sector to see a decline in arrears in May.”

Meanwhile, the proportion of non-conforming loans in arrears increased to 4.71 per cent during the month from 4.25 per cent in April.

“The non-conforming measure tends to exhibit some volatility from month to month, but remains low by historical standards and well below the peak of 17 per cent in 2009,” S&P added.

[Related: WA leads nation for mortgage arrears]