Majors lose mortgage market share

Released yesterday, the latest APRA banking statistics show the total value of owner-occupied loans in March 2015 was $867.47 billion, increasing by over $60 billion from $806.53 billion in March 2014.

The total value of investment loans in March 2015 was $469.41 billion, increasing by over $49 billion from $419.95 billion in March 2014.

Finder.com.au spokesperson Michelle Hutchison said that while CBA holds the greatest market share (26.9 per cent) in the owner-occupied loan market out of all banks monitored by APRA, it lost the most market share of the big four banks in the past year, down 0.7 percentage points (it was 27.6 per cent in March 2014).

“Westpac had the greatest market share (31.7 per cent) in the investment home loan category, maintaining their position of market leader in March 2015 although dropping slightly (then 32 per cent),” Ms Hutchison said.

CBA had the biggest drop in market share in the investment home loan category, dropping 0.6 percentage points to claim 26.6 per cent market share in March.

Ms Hutchison said: “It’s not surprising Commonwealth Bank is losing market share, as its current standard variable interest rate is the third highest of the big four banks, sitting at 5.65 per cent, compared to the lower (5.63 per cent) rate being offered by both NAB and ANZ.”

More borrowers are clearly comparing home loans and switching to cheaper deals where they can save potentially a significant amount of money, she said. 

“For instance, for every 0.25 percentage points for a $300,000 home loan, you could save about $50 per month.”