Industry super fund-owned bank ME has reported strong growth in home loan settlements and the total loan portfolio for the six months prior to 31 December 2016.
The bank’s settlements hit $3.2bn for the second half of last year, an increase of 54% from the previous corresponding period in 2015.
ME’s total home loan portfolio grew by 9% to $20.6bn while total assets increased by 6% to $24.6bn.
Over half of the bank’s home loan settlements came through the broker channel, Lino Pelaccia, ME’s general manager of broker, told
Australian Broker.
“The contribution from brokers is slightly up on the same time as last year due mainly to our continued expansion into the broker market,” he said.
“Increasing numbers of brokers are considering ME home loans, we continue to improve our broker services and service levels have remained very consistent over the last 12 months with new technology, and we continue to offer very competitive prices compared to other banks.”
Looking at the breakdown of settlements between owner-occupier buyers and investors, Pelaccia said the ratio will not change much given APRA’s current cap on growth in investment lending.
“We also note ME is well below that cap at the moment and so have some room to win more investor business before the end of the financial year,” he said.
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