Nine banks have today hiked interest rates, out-of-cycle, on regulators confirmation of a housing bubble. On Monday, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) chairman Greg Medcraft remarked “I’ve been saying for a while I thought it was a bubble, other people are catching up now,” The latest Australian Bureau …
Credit rating agency Fitch has placed Australia’s banks on a negative credit watch, citing an increase in macro-economic risks stemming from the property asset bubble. Fitch indicated a key risk for the banking system was the banks’ exposure to the overheated property market. Of special concerned is strong increases in …
If there is one person that knows the severity of the Australian housing bubble and the repercussions for our banking system, it is ex Commonwealth Bank CEO David Murray. Murray more recently headed up the the government’s Financial System Inquiry. In an interview broadcast on Sky News earlier this month, …
Australia’s property investors and debt slaves were in shock on Friday, when Westpac joined the ranks of smaller banks, significantly hiking mortgage rates out of cycle, on its fixed term loans. Westpac’s five year fixed investment loan will jump 60 basis points or 2.4 times the standard Reserve Bank increase …
Australia’s unprecedented housing bubble has forced a significant number of mortgage applicants to falsify loan applications, simply to get a foothold in the ever challenging market. A recent UBS survey found mortgage fraud in Australia was rife, with 28 per cent of applicants admitting to falsifying loan documents. Many had …
Australia’s banking regulator has expressed “perpetual concern” about the dominance of Australia’s big four banks in the lending market. Charles Littrell, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) supervision general manager told a Centre for International Finance and Regulation showcase event on Thursday, “In 1990, the four major banks had 40 per …
Australia’s investor led housing bubble could be worst that first thought. The Reserve Bank deputy governor, Dr Philip Lowe, today revealed the central bank has been concerned about the banks significant upwards revision on investor mortgages. Reviews over the past 6 months has found $50 billion in investor mortgages incorrectly …
As expected, the Commonwealth Bank is today the second bank to hike interest rates out of cycle, notching rates up 15 basis points. ANZ and NAB are expected to follow. As did Westpac, the CBA blamed the rates decision on increased capital and regulatory requirements. (‘Banking regulator announces tighter capital …
Westpac will hike mortgage rates by 20 basis points on the 20th of November, and in a win for savers, increase term deposit rates by 25 basis points come Friday. Australia’s other big banks could be expected to follow suit. Westpac has blamed the rates decision on increased capital and …
Young foreign students on visas, with no income and who have purchased $5 million properties are just some of the 500 potentially illegal foreign real estate transactions currently under investigation by the Australian government. Federal Treasurer, Joe Hockey, today provided an update of the operations from the 50 strong task-force, …
Six homes brought illegally by foreigners will be sold and a further 462 sales are under investigation with the Treasurer, Joe Hockey, telling Australians more will be forced to sell soon. In May, we reported the enforcement of legislation surrounding real estate sales to foreigners would be transferred to the …
Westpac had slashed the maximum loan to value ratio (LVR) for residential property loans taken out by self managed super funds (SMSF) to 70 per cent. Earlier last month, Westpac lowered the maximum LVR for all property investors to just 80 per cent. On Friday, Westpac also announced it will …
Professor Vernon Smith, an expert on housing bubbles and recipient of a Nobel prize for Economics for his work, told the Australian Financial Review earlier this week, “You have a pretty good [property] bubble in Sydney and Melbourne.” “It is hard to believe it is very sustainable.” On Thursday, Professor …
AMP has today announced a freeze on lending to property investors while existing property investors can expect a 47 basis point increase in mortgage rates from the 7th September 2015. AMP Limited acknowledges the changes are in response to APRA’s crackdown on investor housing loan growth and will review the …
Following moves last week by the ANZ and CBA to hike mortgage rates on investor loans by 27 basis points, the NAB has today announced it will hike rates on interest-only loans by 29 basis points, a move also designed to slow down investor housing lending growth. Significant growth in …
ANZ is the first bank to move, increasing mortgage rates for investor loans by 27 basis points effective from August 10. The bank says it is following instructions from the banking regulator, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA). On Monday APRA announced increases to average risk rates for Australian residential …
As widely expected, the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has announced our big banks will need to raise their average risk weights on Australian residential mortgage exposures from approximately 16 per cent to at least 25 per cent, but still shy of the 35 per cent required by our smaller …
The number of new mortgages to owner-occupiers tumbled a seasonally adjusted 6.1 per cent in May, the biggest fall in 5 years according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data released on Friday. The value of loans written to investors fell 3.2 per cent, while owner occupiers slumped 5.3 percent. …
As widely expected, Australia’s central bank decided today to leave the official cash rate unchanged at 2.0 per cent. In the statement following the policy decision, the Reserve Bank, as it has done over the past couple of months, reiterated “The Bank is working with other regulators to assess and …
The International Monetary Fund has warned Australia’s big banks don’t appear to be well capitalised and increasing capital should be a priority. The warning comes in the concluding statement following the article IV mission to Australia this month. (‘International Monetary Fund team to examine housing bubble – May 2, 2015‘) …
Copyright 2006 - 2022