Powered by MOMENTUM MEDIA
the adviser logo
Lender

NAB, Advantedge tighten mortgage lending criteria

by James Mitchell8 minute read
tighten mortgage lending

The major bank has reduced its loan-to-income (LTI) ratio in response to regulatory concerns about Australia’s high level of household indebtedness.

Last year, NAB introduced an LTI ratio calculation of 8 for all home loan applications. As of 16 February, this has now been reduced to 7.

“NAB is committed to lending responsibly and ensuring our customers can meet their home loan repayments today and into the future,” the bank said.

“Regulatory bodies have raised concerns about Australia’s household debt-to-income ratio, which has risen significantly over the past decade.”

In the UK, where LTI calculations are the norm, the Bank of England first introduced limits on high LTI mortgages in 2014. These measures meant that no more than 15 per cent of mortgages issued should exceed a loan-to-income ratio of 4.5. The actions were not reactive and few British lenders were impacted by the curbs.

The UK’s 4.5 LTI cap on 85 per cent of new lending is still in place. In June last year, Bank of England governor Mark Carney announced that the 4.5 ratio “insurance measures” will become “structural features of the UK housing market”.

cash tight

James Mitchell

AUTHOR

James Mitchell has over eight years’ experience as a financial reporter and is the editor of Wealth and Wellness at Momentum Media.

He has a sound pedigree to cover the business of mortgages and the converging financial services sector having reported for leading finance titles InvestorDaily, InvestorWeekly, Accountants Daily, ifa, Mortgage Business, Residential Property Manager, Real Estate Business, SMSF Adviser, Smart Property Investment, and The Adviser.

He has also been published in The Daily Telegraph and contributed online to FST Media and Mergermarket, part of the Financial Times Group.

James holds a BA (Hons) in English Literature and an MA in Journalism.

 

magazine
Read the latest issue of The Adviser magazine!
The Adviser is the number one magazine for Australia's finance and mortgage brokers. The publications delivers news, analysis, business intelligence, sales and marketing strategies, research and key target reports to an audience of professional mortgage and finance brokers
Read more