CBA mortgage book holds steady in October: APRA

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) mortgage portfolio has held steady at $542 billion in October, recording a slight increase of 0.01 per cent, according to the latest monthly authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) statistics released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).

Both CBA’s owner-occupier loan book and investor book remained at $362 billion and $180 billion, (respectively), recording no decreases in either book for the first time since July 2023. The major bank has still maintained the top spot in mortgage market share.

CBA previously stated the monthly declines were “a consequence of [its] focus on increasing [its] share of Australian home loan revenue” and that its balance sheet drops reflected a disciplined approach to pricing, which ensures marginal shareholder returns remain above the cost of capital in a highly competitive market”.

ANZ once again recorded the strongest mortgage portfolio growth for the month, with its total loan book up by 0.71 per cent to $287.7 billion from $285 billion in September.

The major bank’s owner-occupier book grew by 0.73 per cent to $191.9 billion, up from $190 billion the previous month, while its investor book grew 0.66 per cent to $95.7 billion, up from $94 billion.

NAB’s total mortgage portfolio grew by 0.44 per cent in October to $313.7 billion, up from $312 billion recorded in September, with its owner-occupier book increasing by 0.61 per cent to $204.8 billion, while its investor book recovered from last month’s loss of $91 million, increasing by 0.13 per cent and remaining above $108 billion.

Westpac recorded growth of 0.36 per cent in its total mortgage portfolio, up to $457 billion from $455 billion in September.

Its owner-occupier loan book grew by 0.54 per cent to $299.8 billion (up from $298 billion) while its investor book only saw a marginal increase (0.02 per cent) remaining at $157 billion.

Overall, APRA revealed that the total mortgage book of Australian ADIs grew 0.36 per cent from $2.13 trillion to $2.14 trillion in October.

Owner-occupier and investor loan books both increased the volume of loans held when compared to September.

The volume of owner-occupier loans held by the country’s ADIs rose by $6.3 billion (0.44 per cent) in October, revealing ongoing acceleration from the previous month’s increases of $5.6 billion (September) and $5.3 billion (August), closing out the month at a total of $1.45 trillion.

Investor loan volumes also accelerated in October, rising by approximately $1.47 billion (up 0.21 per cent) from the $1.3 billion recorded in September.

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