Making headlines today, Westpac’s chief Gail Kelly has said banking competition is as good as ever.
While Mr Swan gears up to launch a fifth pillar of banking to cabinet, Ms Kelly refused to concede that competition in the mortgage sector was in need of a boost.
Speaking to the Australian Financial Review, Ms Kelly said while there were fewer lenders in the mortgage space, competition between the big four was more intense than ever before.
She rejected the idea that the removal of some non-bank lenders from the lending space had given the majors more power, but conceded that it is the other banks that challenge Westpac for market share.
The big banks accounted for approximately 60 per cent of all mortgages written prior to the global financial crisis. However, this number has since soared to 80 per cent and above in recent years.