HSBC reveals third-party plans

Speaking to Mortgage Business, an HSBC spokesperson confirmed that the lender does not plan on re-entering the mortgage broker market.

The confirmation comes after months of speculation and eagerness among aggregators to add the lender to their panels.

HSBC sold its broker-originated loan book to Firstmac in 2006, which at the time consisted of over 10,000 customer accounts worth $2.26 billion.

Since then the lender has grown its loan book through its direct channel by 119 per cent to a current book value of $8.5 billion.

In the 12 months to May, HSBC’s loan book grew by 8.7 per cent, with investment loans accounting for more than half of its residential lending (53.8 per cent).

Mortgage broker and N1 Finance managing director Ren Wong said the lender has been actively targeting the non-resident investment loan market.

“That is probably their main market at the moment,” Mr Wong told Mortgage Business, adding that without an offset product, the bank would not be as competitive as other mortgage providers.

“Overseas investors can’t buy owner-occupied, they can only buy investment property, so in some ways having an offset feature is really not their concern anymore,” he said.

“There is also the recognition with the HSBC brand among Chinese buyers.”

Last month Fairfax reported that HSBC aims to double its share of the mortgage market within three years, which would see its loan book swell to $17 billion.

HSBC local head of retail banking and wealth management Graham Heunis told Fairfax that the bank hopes to double its share by targeting wealthy property investors and people with strong overseas links, including migrants.