New data has revealed that ANZ’s housing loan book slipped in December, while its major rivals posted multibillion‑dollar gains.
New figures from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) have shown that Australia and New Zealand Bank (ANZ) was the lone major to record a fall in total housing credit in December 2025, while Commonwealth Bank (CBA), Westpac, and Macquarie Bank accelerated across both owner‑occupier and investment categories.
ANZ slips as rivals expand
APRA’s latest Monthly Authorised Deposit‑taking Institution Statistics, released on Friday (30 January), revealed that ANZ’s total housing loan portfolio had dipped by $50 million (-0.01 per cent) over December to $321.5 billion, making it the only top 10 authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) to shrink its mortgage book in aggregate terms.
The decline stemmed mainly from its owner‑occupier portfolio, down $360 million (-0.17 per cent) to $214.3 billion, while its investor book rose slightly by $320 million (+0.30 per cent) to $107.1 billion.
However, the modest increase in investment lending wasn’t enough to offset weaker demand from owner‑occupiers or the competitive gains made by ANZ’s peers.
The result leaves ANZ trailing its major‑bank competitors through year end, capping a December in which almost every lender added billions to their total books.
CBA, Westpac post twin multibillion‑dollar lifts
At the top of the table, CBA strengthened its dominance with a $4.96 billion (+0.81 per cent) lift in total housing loans to $616.4 billion.
Within that, CBA’s owner‑occupier loans rose $2.42 billion (+0.61 per cent) to $402.2 billion, and investor lending climbed $2.54 billion (+1.20 per cent) to $214.2 billion – the largest monthly rise by dollar value in the investment category.
Westpac was close behind, growing its total mortgage book by $4.01 billion (+0.80 per cent) to $502.5 billion.
This included a $2.45 billion (+0.74 per cent) increase in owner‑occupier loans to $333.2 billion, alongside a $1.56 billion (+0.93 per cent) rise in investor lending to $169.3 billion.
Together, CBA and Westpac added nearly $9 billion of housing credit in one month and now account for more than 58 per cent of total mortgages held by the nation’s top 10 ADIs.
NAB focuses on owner‑occupiers, Macquarie outpaces all
National Australia Bank (NAB) recorded strong growth on the retail side, adding $4.32 billion (+1.8 per cent) to its owner‑occupier portfolio, which reached $232.5 billion by year end.
However, a $2.32 billion (-2.05 per cent) decline in its investor loans to $111.1 billion limited total growth to $2.0 billion (+0.59 per cent), for a combined book of $343.7 billion.
In contrast, Macquarie Bank continued to climb at system‑leading pace.
The bank lifted its owner‑occupier book by $2.29 billion (+2.32 per cent) to $101.2 billion and its investment lending by $1.65 billion (+2.66 per cent) to $63.5 billion, equating to a total monthly increase of $3.94 billion (+2.45 per cent) to $164.7 billion.
Macquarie’s growth was the fastest percentage gain of any major lender and the third‑largest dollar rise overall, behind only CBA and Westpac.
Its parallel expansion across both borrower types highlights the bank’s broad market traction and increasingly competitive position relative to the big four.
Mid‑tier lender post mixed results
Among the mid‑tier banks, results were uneven.
ING Bank (Australia) posted one of its best months of the year, with total housing credit up $1.08 billion to $71.7 billion.
Its owner‑occupier lending climbed $720 million, and investment loans rose $360 million.
Suncorp Bank recorded solid expansion, up $340 million to $57.4 billion, while HSBC Bank Australia added $250 million for a total of $34.7 billion.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank saw its total housing loans edge down $110 million to $63.3 billion, reflecting a $280 million drop in owner‑occupier balances partially offset by $180 million in investor growth.
Bank of Queensland (BOQ) also contracted slightly, down $130 million to $53.7 billion.
System‑wide, December 2025 marked a firm finish to the year for Australia’s mortgage market, with housing loan values expanding across nine of the 10 largest ADIs.
Aggregate growth among them totalled nearly $17.5 billion for the month, driven primarily by the major banks’ return to vigorous lending in both new settlements and refinancing activity.
[Related: Westpac sees spike in owner-occupied lending]
