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Fresh figures from a major aggregator have revealed that the third-party mortgage market share of Australia’s major banks has fallen to a post-GFC low.
The latest AFG Competition Index found that major lender market share has “taken a hit”, falling to 62.5 per cent in the final quarter of 2017.
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The index showed that the majors lost ground in all home lending categories, including a 4 per cent reduction in refinancing and a 2 per cent fall in fixed rate mortgages.
AFG general manager of broker and residential Mark Hewitt attributed the decline to increased scrutiny being placed on the major banks that has culminated into a Royal Commission.
“The major banks have been under intense scrutiny by government and the regulators and it is probably no wonder if they have been distracted,” Mr Hewitt said.
“With the recently announced Royal Commission into the banking sector, we all hope lenders can respond while still maintaining a focus on their customers.”
Mr Hewitt added that the Royal Commission, and the industry as a whole, should “focus on how competition can be further improved” and should also include “the impact that the government guarantee has on competition”.
Westpac was the only major bank to increase its market share, from 19.19 per cent to 20.33 per cent.
ANZ suffered the largest market share reduction among the major banks, falling by 3.5 per cent.
The Competition Index figures also found that non-major banks have a market share of 37.43 per cent, with both Macquarie Bank and AFG growing their share of broker-originated mortgages.
“The non-majors picking up market share were Macquarie, with an increase from 2.91 per cent to 4.70 per cent, and AFG Home Loans, with a lift from 8.88 per cent to 10.15 per cent,” Mr Hewitt noted.
[Related: AFG highlights ‘significant scrutiny’ on banking industry]
