Westpac mortage portfolio grew 1% to $35.4b in six months ended March

Westpac says its New Zealand mortgage portfolio grew 1% to $35.4 billion in the six months ended March compared to the 0.7% growth in mortgages held by New Zealand banks overall.

Thursday, May 3rd 2012, 3:27PM

by Jenny Ruth

The figures are for Westpac's New Zealand branch and are different from those GoodReturns derives from Westpac's New Zealand subsidiary's quarterly disclosure statements and the March quarter statement hasn't been published yet.

The bank says the quality of its mortgage portfolio remains high and well-secured with 78% of loans having loan-to-valuation ratios below 80%.

It originated 74% of its loans during the latest six months compared with 73% in the six months ended September last year - which implies mortgage brokers accounted for 26% of its mortgage business in the latest half year.

Customer continued to switch into variable rate mortgages which accounted for 52% of the portfolio at the end of March compared with 47% in September and 41% in March last year.

Westpac says New Zealand deposit growth of 4% to $1.4 billion more than fully funded loan growth and its deposit-to-loan ratio rose to 68% in the six months from 66%.

The bank reported cash earnings of $333 million, up 14%, for the six months with impairment charges falling 9% to $98 million which it says reflects enhancements to its credit decision.

« Credit growth ticks up, floating rate mortgages rise in MarchWhere is Pero's boss? »

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