(12 July 2011 – Australia) In May, National Australia Bank (NAB) increased mortgage lending 15.8 percent compared with April, with rivals Commonwealth Bank (CBA), Westpac and ANZ posting slower growth in mortgages.NAB has made a post-financial crisis resurgence after chief Cameron Clyne scrapped fees, cut loan rates and began an advertising campaign featuring a ‘break-up’ with rivals.
The strategy is not without risks as ratings downgrades and the weakest credit demand in three decades threaten banks’ profits.
NAB’s outperformance comes amid mounting concern about the profitability of the nation’s lenders.
Having weathered the turmoil unleashed by the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers without government bailouts, the banks face tumbling demand for home loans after the Reserve Bank boosted borrowing costs seven times between October 2009 and last November.
Credit to home buyers in May increased at the slowest annual pace since 1977, when RBA data began.
CBA accounted for 29 percent of the mortgage market in May, Westpac had 27 percent, followed by NAB’s 16 percent and ANZ’s 15 percent, according to APRA figures.