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Suncorp Bank has posted 5.7 per cent growth in its mortgage book despite adopting a “more conservative” lending stance.
The lender reported housing loans of $38.7 billion for the 12 months to 31 March 2014, compared to volumes of $36.6 billion the year before.
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Total loans remained flat at $49.7 billion, with 57.6 per cent of the loans coming from Queensland, 24.2 per cent from NSW and 18.2 per cent from the rest of Australia.
Chief executive John Nesbitt said Suncorp had adopted a “more conservative” lending stance after reviewing market conditions and the quality of its balance sheet.
“[We’ve] tightened underwriting standards in the residential mortgage book by focusing on the sub-80 per cent loan-to-value business, an important move in a period of very low interest rates when global expectations are that rates will increase over time,” he said.
Suncorp Bank has 2.4 per cent of the mortgage market, according to the most recent APRA statistics.
The bank also announced that it would continue to pursue its strategy of geographic diversification.
