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Westpac has announced it will be able to help more home buyers into the market from mid-next year.
Westpac Banking Corporation (Westpac) said it will join the Australian government’s Home Guarantee Scheme, after the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation (NHFIC) appointed the group to the lender panel.
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The NHFIC had previously called on ANZ and Westpac to put forward proposals to join the Home Guarantee Scheme panel from 30 September.
Previously, just Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) and National Australia Bank (NAB) were on the major bank panel for the government’s First Home Guarantee (FHBG) and the Family Home Guarantee (FHG) schemes administered by the NHFIC.
Thirty non-major lenders are also part of the Home Guarantee Scheme.
The calls came after amendments were made to the NHFIC’s Investment Mandate recently that removed the limit of having only two major bank lenders on the lender panel.
Westpac’s participation in the scheme will commence on 1 July 2023 starting with Westpac and RAMS, followed by St.George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA later in 2023.
Westpac Group chief executive, consumer & business banking, Chris de Bruin, said the group was looking forward to working alongside the Australian government and NHFIC to help aspiring home buyers through the Home Guarantee Scheme.
“The expense of saving a home loan deposit remains a top barrier to entering the property market, and the Scheme-backed loans provide a bridge for buyers with a smaller deposit to purchase their home sooner and potentially save thousands of dollars,” Mr de Bruin said.
“In particular, eligible first home buyers, single parents, and borrowers in regional communities utilising the Scheme can benefit from improved access to finance and competitive products.
“Westpac Group helps thousands of customers into their new home each year and now we will be able to use our scale, support, and expertise across the breadth of our retail brands to assist even more Australians in 2023.”
Budget 2022–23: Home guarantee and Help to Buy
The federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers pledged to continue the Coalition government’s First Home Guarantee, Family Home Guarantee, and Labor’s new Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee that will support 10,000 new home owners each year to 30 June 2026.
The budget also sets aside money for its new Help to Buy Scheme (set to commence from July 2023).
The government will spend $324.6 million over four years from 2022–23 to establish the Help to Buy scheme to assist people on low to moderate incomes to purchase a new or existing home with an equity contribution from the government.
[Related: Government looks to add more majors to home guarantee scheme panel]
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