Macquarie owner-occ mortgage lending jumps 17.5%

Macquarie Bank has been growing its owner-occupier home loans business more than twice as fast as the big four banks.

Macquarie had $21.4 billion of owner-occupier mortgages on its books at the end of April, according to statistics released by APRA, Australia’s banking regulator (see table below).

That was 17.5 per cent higher than the year before and 5.0 per cent higher than the quarter before.

By contrast, the big four banks averaged growth of 6.5 per cent over the year and 1.3 per cent over the quarter.

However, the big four still have much larger owner-occupier home loan books than Macquarie.

Macquarie has two home loan products aimed at owner-occupiers – the Basic Home Loan and Offset Home Loan.

The Basic Home Loan starts at 3.69 per cent (comparison rate 3.69 per cent), while the Offset Home Loan also starts at 3.69 per cent (comparison rate 3.94 per cent).

RateCity.com.au money editor Sally Tindall said Macquarie is differentiating itself from the big four banks by offering lower advertised rates.

“Macquarie is trying to ditch their reputation as a bank for the wealthy, making a concerted play for everyday mum and dad customers,” she said.

“They’ve done this with a simple proposition that’s hard to argue with: low-cost loans. Right now, they’re competing at the pointy end of the rate table among lesser-known lenders using a big-name brand.

“For many customers who are cost-orientated but nervous about smaller lenders, they seem to be ticking all the right boxes.”

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