(2 February 2010 – Australia) National Australia Bank’s (NAB) decision to raise its interest rates by less than its big four rivals has paid off, as the bank increases its market share of the mortgage lending market, but at the expense of losing some deposits.The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has revealed that NAB has managed to capture some market share at the expense of its rivals with its “Fair Value” banking campaign.
Australia’s fourth largest lender by market capitalisation increased its mortgage portfolio by 1.3 percent in December, with its mortgage book now consisting of A$105.5 billion in owner occupied home loans and A$50.24 billion in investment loans.
NAB’s rivals CBA, ANZ and Westpac only managed to expand their mortgage portfolio by 0.2 percent, 0.8 percent and 0.55 percent respectively.
CBA’s nominal increase could be the result of a consumer backlash against CBA, which raised its mortgage lending rates by nearly double the central bank’s last official rate rise.
NAB has the equal cheapest standard variable rate among the majors at 7.67 percent, with ANZ, compared with Westpac’s 7.86 percent and CBA’s 7.81 percent.