The news that AMP bank has taken the rather drastic step of freezing all new investor housing loans to pull itself up behind the APRA 10% annual growth line in the sand throws up a fascinating question. AMP was growing its investor loans portfolio at 15.4% per annum, which absolutely pales in comparison with the mortgage free-radical Macquarie Bank which was growing at 86.6% in May with a book three times larger than that of AMP:
Some of this is acquisitions but even so! If AMP has had to pull the handbrake on then WTF does MQG have to do? And let’s face it, it has to do it, anything else will be commercial favouritism.
If given a year to get behind the line, Macquarie Bank will only be able to lend $880 million to property investors in the next twelve months versus $4.1 billion the year previous (minus acquisitions). And that’s if it’s given 12 months to comply from today, which would be quite unfair given the policy was announced last year.