The latest APRA data shows that some lenders continue to grow their loan books rapidly, while others are going backwards.
The latest APRA Monthly Authorised Deposit-taking Institution (ADI) Statistics, analysed by research group Agile Market Intelligence, has revealed that while the majority of banks grew their home loan books in September 2025, there were some exceptions.
According to new data from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), Australian banks grew their home loan books by 13.5 billion in the month of September, as mortgage lending accelerates in a lower cash rate environment.
Continuing its rampant growth is Macquarie Bank, which grew its loan book by 2.13 per cent in September – or by $3.2 billion – to take its mortgage book to $153.7 billion. The bank has been rapidly growing its mortgage book in the past few years – and has grown its book by more than $28 billion in the last 12 months – the most of any bank.
This rate of growth was more than three times that of the largest major bank and signalled a continued strategic push by the challenger bank into the lucrative housing market.
Out of the four majors, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) grew the most over the month, increasing its book by 0.51 per cent, and taking its mortgage book to over $600 billion for the first time.
CBA’s mortgage book was $603.1 billion at the end of September 2025, according to APRA stats.
The second-largest mortgage lender in Australia, Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac), grew its book by 0.37 per cent ($1.83 billion), to $491.8 billion, while National Australia Bank (NAB) grew its book by a similar amount of 0.38 per cent (or $1.29 billion). However, NAB’s mortgage book is substantially smaller than Westpac’s, at $338.4 billion.
Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) has the smallest book of the big four – at $320.2 billion – but still saw its book grow by 0.31 per cent (or $1.00 billion) in September.
Non-major lender ING Bank (Australia) also recorded strong relative growth in the month, seeing its mortgage book rise by 1.18 per cent in September. However, its loan book is just $69 billion. It maintains its position as the sixth-largest mortgage lender in Australia, having taken the position from Bendigo and Adelaide Bank earlier this year.
Contractions at the non-majors
In contrast to the strong growth recorded by the top performers, several non-major banks reported contractions in their mortgage portfolios, indicating a potential loss of market share in a highly competitive environment.
Bank of Queensland (BOQ), which has a total loan book of $54.5 billion, saw its loan book fall by $400 million, a 0.75 per cent drop on August figures. This builds on its recent financial update that showed it had a $4.3 billion decline in housing lending in its 2025 financial year (FY25) ending 31 August.
According to the banking group, its contraction largely reflected the prioritisation of returns over housing volume growth, as well as the pause in Virgin Money Australia (VMA) and BOQ Broker origination.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Group also experienced portfolio shrinkage, with its loan book contracting by 0.06 per cent in September 2025, on the heels of a more pronounced 0.5 per cent contraction in August. Its mortgage portfolio now sits at just over $64 billion.
Similarly, Suncorp Bank (now part of ANZ Group) recorded a slight contraction of -0.02 per cent in September 2025. Suncorp Bank’s book sat around $56.6 billion in September 2025.
Several lenders have announced new mortgage strategies in recent weeks to try and win more business in a hot market, with several focusing on proprietary lending.
Westpac this week confirmed its push to grow proprietary lending, while ANZ CEO Nuno Matos also recently announced a strong proprietary focus for the major bank and plans to bring Suncorp Bank under ANZ in 2027.
CBA is already seeing returns on its drive on direct lending, with the bank revealing that online home loan application submissions are five times higher year on year.
[Related: Online mortgage applications up fivefold at CBA]
