Westpac chief executive Peter King says mortgage competition is the most intense he has ever seen, but banks have to keep writing loans or risk losing market share.
“You have to play because if you don’t your book will shrink very quickly in terms of the overall dynamic,” Mr King said.Australia’s biggest bank and largest mortgage player Commonwealth Bank grew at 1.2 times the pace of the market in JanuaryAPRA statistics showed CBA’s overall market share was almost 23 per cent, the highest since April last year, as loan growth overall slowed and banks compete hard for refinancing.
In his keynote address to the Summit, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chairman John Lonsdale said banks had “expressed displeasure” about the prudential regulator’s capital requirements. But Mr King said the banks were grateful for the conservatism.