Macquarie overtakes CBA in mortgage growth

UBS Asset Management analyst John Storey, associate analyst Olivia Clemson and associate analyst Benjamin Rothery have examined recent APRA authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) data in a new research note.

The analysis has found that despite only holding 4.3 per cent market share in total mortgage lending, Macquarie has now topped new net business over the big four and regional banks Suncorp, Bank of Queensland and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank.

Previously, CBA had been the largest underwriter for new business in the market.

In February, Macquarie’s home loan book grew by 2.2 per cent (up $1.8 billion) to $83.8 billion.

In comparison, all of the big four banks except ANZ experienced more subtle growth in their mortgage books.

CBA inched upwards by 0.3 per cent (up $1.7 billion) to $510.7 billion over February, while Westpac grew by 0.1 per cent ($348 million) to $427.3 billion and NAB increased by 0.5 per cent ($1.6 billion) to $284.1 billion.

ANZ on the other hand, slipped by 1 per cent (down by $56 million) to $260.6 billion.

Other non-major lenders had also managed larger net growth than the big four, such as Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, which climbed by 1 per cent in February to $54.9 billion, and Bank of Queensland, which was up by 1 per cent to $58.5 billion.

The regional bank segment had 0.9 per cent growth in their collective mortgage books over February, in contrast to the big four’s 0.2 per cent.

Market share slips from big four’s grasp

While Macquarie has managed to grow its market share over the year to February, from 3.4 per cent to 4.3 per cent, the big four’s domain has slimmed.

The total market share across the major banks had dipped from 77.3 per cent a year earlier, to 75.6 per cent.

In contrast, the regional banks saw their market rise from 7.5 per cent to 8.1 per cent, and banks in the “Other” category (excluding Macquarie), went from 11.8 per cent to 12 per cent.

Westpac’s market share had declined from 22.5 per cent 12 months prior, to 21.8 per cent, while ANZ was down from 14.5 per cent to 13.3 per cent.

CBA on the other hand has stayed steady, going from 25.9 per cent to 26 per cent of all mortgage lending, while NAB has also been somewhat consistent, going from 14.4 per cent to 14.5 per cent.

Owner-occupier, investor loans

In terms of owner-occupied mortgages, Macquarie was up by 1.9 per cent over February, to $48.9 billion.

Of the big four, NAB had the greatest growth in the segment, up 0.6 per cent to a total $180.9 billion.

CBA and Westpac both experienced 0.5 per cent growth, landing at $339.2 billion and $259.5 billion respectively.

However ANZ's owner-occupier book was clipped by 0.1 per cent, to $173 billion.

But the larger business for Macquarie in terms of market share is its investor home loans, where it holds 5.3 per cent of all mortgages (compared to 3.8 per cent for owner-occupiers). A year earlier, the bank had 4 per cent market share in investor loans and 3.1 per cent in owner-occupier.

The bank’s investor book grew by 2.7 per cent ($91.7 million) over February, to $34.9 billion.

At the same time, CBA increased its investor book by $34 million (growth of 0.01 per cent), to $171.4 billion. But it had steadily gained investor market share over the year to February, from 24.9 per cent to 25.8 per cent.

Westpac on the other hand saw its investor book deflate by 0.5 per cent, down to $167 billion. The bank had also lost market share in the year leading up to February, from 27.6 per cent down to 25.3 per cent.

Over February, ANZ grew its investor book by 0.2 per cent, to $87.5 million and NAB was up by 0.5 per cent to $103.2 billion.

However, the two banks had seen slight declines in market share for the investor segment, with ANZ sliding from 13.6 per cent a year prior to 13.2 per cent, while NAB was down from 15.8 per cent to 15.5 per cent.

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