Articles

James Mitchell| SME Adviser| 7 March 2017 https://www.smeadviser.com.au/news/64-apra-sounds-alarm-on-commercial-property-risks Following a recent review, the prudential regulator has today warned that many banks have fallen “well short of expectations” regarding portfolio controls for commercial property. In a letter to all Australian banks today, APRA outlined its observations from a thematic review into commercial property lending, noting that […]

For the past few years, banks and mortgage brokers have found themselves in the cross hairs with the talk of a property bubble. In theory, that is due to culminate in the next weeks as ASIC makes recommendations on the way brokers should be paid. Yet, the truth is, lending is being buffeted from many […]

Miklos Bolza| Broker News| 24 February 2017 http://www.brokernews.com.au/news/breaking-news/asic-promises-well-informed-remuneration-review-231730.aspx The Australian Investments & Securities Commission (ASIC) will release its long-awaited broker remuneration review in a “couple of weeks”. In a panel at the RFi Group’s Australian Mortgage Innovation Summit 2017 in Sydney yesterday (23 February), Michael Saadat, senior executive leader of deposit takers, credit & insurers […]

Prateek Chatterjee| Property Observer| 24 February 2017 http://www.propertyobserver.com.au/forward-planning/investment-strategy/property-news-and-insights/66076-mortgage-broker-afg-says-profit-up-14-as-credit-market-picking-up.html Mortgage broker Australian Finance Group (ASX: AFG) reported a rise in half-yearly profit of 14% from the same period in the previous year, helped by the strong performance of its AFG Home Loans division. AFG’s loan book now sits at $127 billion, with the overall residential loan […]

Bill Evans, Westpac Chief Economist | Property Observer| 21 February 2017 http://www.propertyobserver.com.au/financing/interest-rates/65843-official-cash-rate-will-remain-on-hold-maybe-until-2018-westpac-s-bill-evans.html As expected, the minutes of the February monetary policy meeting of the Board of the Reserve Bank provided little additional insight to the Governor’s post-meeting statement and the February Statement on Monetary Policy. The surprise 0.5 percent decline in real GDP in the […]

Anthony Waldron| The Adviser| 20 February 2017 http://www.theadviser.com.au/blogs/35744-doing-the-right-thing The rise of the mortgage broking industry to become the major distributor of mortgages is due to a public vote of confidence. Millions of Australians – some 53 per cent of mortgagees – turn to a broker to represent their interests. First home buyers want a simplified […]