Via Banking Day:
The carnival of outsider analysis of public domain data on at least one hot topic in Australian banking comes with a vital caveat, Commonwealth Bank claimed yesterday at an investor briefing.
The flexible credit standards and more than variable pricing of residential investment loans lately was a talking point at the briefing, while Ian Narev, the bank’s managing director, came armed with unexpected deflectors among his talking points.
“It’s very different from the outside, to look at these numbers,” Narev told analysts.
There are, he said, “very technical definitions” considered by the bank and APRA, and these “don’t match to what you folk can see.”
The bank, however, “will not exceed the ten per cent cap” (on investment loan growth) set by APRA more than a year ago.
The CBA disclosures yesterday do show a shift in its business mix over the last year. Owner occupied loans accounted for 66 per cent of new lending over the last half, up from 62 per cent a year ago. Investment lending’s share dipped to 33 per cent from 37 per cent.
Narev also provided context on another recent minor fuss over Bankwest’s clamp on considering the benefits from negative gearing in assessing select loan applications.
This, the bank said, applied to loans with low deposits.
Narev added colour: “Supporting existing customers is a priority, so one step is to reduce [approvals for] refinancing from other financial institutions.”
Well, then, why is it all such a bloody secret? Time to rip away the APRA curtain so we can bring enlightenment to all questions.
