ISCOVER
Most of the big lenders expanded their mortgage books in July, but there were two exceptions, according to APRA figures.
The latest APRA Monthly Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI) Statistics, analysed by research group Agile Market Intelligence, showed that while the majority of banks grew their home loan books in July, there were some exceptions.
According to new data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), the mortgage books of the top 10 largest lenders grew by $7.05 billion in July, to $2.16 trillion.
The median monthly change among the top 10 lenders was +0.28 per cent, with the big four banks contributing $4.12 billion to the total uplift and other lenders adding $2.92 billion.
Macquarie Bank recorded the fastest growth among the top 10, seeing its loan book increase by $3.21 billion, or 2.22 per cent. This brought its total to $147.7 billion.
Macquarie’s mortgage book has been expanding at rates as high as 2.22 per cent month on month, with the bank adding up to $3.21 billion in a single month. Its growth has accelerated over the past six months, outpacing all other lenders on both a percentage and dollar basis relative to size. It has seen particularly strong growth in investor lending.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the nation’s largest lender, added $2.17 billion in July (+0.37 per cent) to reach a total residential mortgage loan book of $595.8 billion. That was the second-largest uplift across the top 10, behind Macquarie.
CBA’s monthly increases are consistently ranging between 0.22 and 0.50 per cent over the past year. Variance peaked at $2.77 billion in a single month.
However, Bendigo Bank and Bank of Queensland both recorded contractions in their loan books over the month of July.
BOQ fell by $0.92 billion (-1.64 per cent), while Bendigo also contracted slightly, at around 0.70 per cent.
BOQ has seen its mortgage book in run-off recently, and the brand has paused new home lending through the broker channel.
Bendigo Bank has also been streamlining its product offering since closing down the Adelaide Bank brand last year. Despite the slight fall in its book in July, it has had strong growth across the year.
Speaking of the figures, Michael Johnson, director at Agile Market Intelligence, said: “Growth was widespread rather than concentrated. When eight out of ten lenders expand in the same month, it tells you the engine is running across the market, not just in one franchise.
“Macquarie’s surge highlights how challengers can disrupt incumbents through consistent outperformance. Their growth momentum is outstripping peers and will be closely watched by the major banks.
“CBA’s approach shows the power of scale in mortgage lending. Even modest percentage increases translate into billions in new loans, reinforcing its dominant market position.”
Banks are now experiencing faster growth in investor lending than in owner-occupier loans, marking the first time since APRA began tracking the data in 2019 that investors have taken the lead.
APRA’s July 2025 figures showed investor loan books rose 6.1 per cent annually to a record $755 billion, compared with 5.6 per cent growth for owner-occupier lending.
[Related: Investor lending at the banks surpasses owner-occupier growth]
JOIN THE DISCUSSION