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Auswide has reported record loan book growth across the first half of the 2021 financial year.
Over the six months to 31 December 2020, the bank said that its loan book grew by an annualised rate of 13.4% to $3.485bn from the $3.216bn reported in the first half of the 2020 financial year.
Martin Barrett, managing director of Auswide Bank, credited a “strategic focus on delivering a highly scalable broker experience and growing broker recognition” for the increase in home loan flows.
“Mortgage brokers continue to represent a significant growth opportunity for Auswide as third-party loans account for a larger portion of the home loan market each year,” said Barrett.
Barrett also said that Auswide’s participation in the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (FHLDS) – which offers loans to eligible first homebuyers with the government providing a guarantee for any loan amounts above 80% LVR – contributed to the growth, adding that the scheme “introduced Auswide Bank to a younger customer demographic, specifically between the ages of 24 to 35.”
Additionally, Barrett said that a majority of customers under the bank’s range of deferral programs have “resumed or indicated that they intend to resume repayments at the end of their deferral period.”
“At 31 December 2020, just 1.1% of Auswide’s loan book was still receiving assistance, with these mainly related to home loans with an LVR of less than 80%,” said Barrett. “The board is confident the provisions set aside are sufficient to manage the uncertainty created by COVID-19 with a review of COVID-19 related provisions to be undertaken during the second half.”
