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Macquarie has retained its title as the fastest-growing home loan provider among the big banks while CBA’s mortgage book grew by more than $3 billion in December.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) maintained its dominance as Australia’s biggest lender in December, while Macquarie Bank continued to lead among the biggest banks based on the rate of home loan book growth, according to figures from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA).
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The total value of outstanding home loans across all banks grew by $12.3 billion to hit a new high of $2.27 trillion in December 2024, according to APRA’s latest Monthly Authorised Deposit-taking Institution Statistics.
This represents a monthly increase of 0.5 per cent from the $2.26 trillion of mortgages on bank books in November 2024.
All four major banks posted growth across their portfolios for owner-occupied and investment home loans, as did all of the 10 largest lenders except Bank of Queensland (which has ‘paused’ mortgage distribution through the broker channel).
CBA saw its loan book rise by $3.14 billion in December, with a healthy increase in both owner-occupier and investment loans.
The major’s owner-occupier mortgage portfolio stood at $382.19 billion at the end of December, edging up 0.39 per cent or $1.47 billion.
CBA’s investment loans accounted for $195.06 billion, $1.67 billion higher than November. This translated to a 0.54 per cent rise in its book over the month, the largest growth posted by a big four lender.
Westpac Banking Group, National Australia Bank (NAB), and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) all reported solid mortgage book growth in December:
- Westpac’s mortgage book climbed to $481.78 billion, making it Australia’s second-largest mortgage lender. Its book ticked up 0.45 per cent month on month and finished December with $319.56 billion in owner-occupier loans and $162.19 billion in investment loans.
- NAB – the third-largest mortgage lender – reported a 0.50 per cent increase, with its total mortgage book rising to $325.62 billion from $323.99 billion in November. Owner-occupier loans reached $215.83 billion, while investment loans reached $109.78 billion.
- ANZ saw its mortgage portfolio grow 0.51 per cent to $308.80 billion. It was driven by a mix of owner-occupier loans, which now total $205.79 billion, and investment loans reaching $103.02 billion.
Macquarie gains ground on big 4
However, Macquarie continued to accelerate its lead as the fastest-growing bank lender in Australia.
It maintained its position as the fifth-biggest home lender and comfortably generated the highest growth rate for its home loan book among the 10 biggest banks, rising by 1.4 per cent in December 2024, up from $129.73 billion to $131.52 billion.
Growth was driven by a $1.79 billion rise in its portfolio, with owner-occupier loans making up $81.78 billion, rising from $80.66 billion in November, and investment loans hitting $49.74 billion from $49.07 billion.
The increase continues Macquarie’s strong performance for 2024, with the bank having updated several of its product offerings in the mortgage market to gain ground on the big four.
Over the calendar year 2024, its mortgage book surged by 15 per cent.
Given that the bank has no bank branches, the vast majority of its loan book originated from the broker channel.
Best of the rest
Outside of the five largest lenders, the APRA statistics showed that the top 10 mortgage lenders in Australia also include:
- Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, with a book of $63.6 billion.
- ING Australia, with a book of $62.7 billion.
- Bank of Queensland (BOQ), with a book of $57.8 billion, down marginally on the month before.
- Norfina Limited (the new legal name of Suncorp Bank now that it’s part of ANZ Group), with a book of $54.8 billion.
- HSBC Bank Australia, with a book of $32.0 billion.
[Related: Lenders begin reducing fixed rates ahead of RBA meeting]
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