'Business lending - what's that?' asks Westpac
Westpac has had its fair share of chopping and changing on how to align or disassociate its consumer and business bank.A more unified model is the form now and, for now, enduring.Head of the group's business bank, David Lindberg, described its business revenue mix in a presentation yesterday.Westpac Commercial commands 36 per cent of revenue via the group's principal business banking brand, Lindberg said. The SME segment accounts for 29 per cent and St George business banking 23 per cent.The asset finance division labelled "Specialist Product and Services" accounted for 12 per cent.There is "good momentum across lending and deposits" as well as "sound pipeline growth" the bank said.This momentum, at least in SME, may have more to do with the personal affairs of the bank's business customers than the actual funding needs of a business.Over the year to September 2015 commercial property lending accounted for 30 per cent of SME lending and "non-commercial property" (that is, residential loans) the remaining 70 per cent.Home loans are well and truly a growth driver in Westpac's business bank, with this segment accounting for 88 per cent of new lending over the March 2015 quarter. Commercial property accounted for only 12 per cent.Westpac shared a chart with no data that illustrated whopping lending growth in New South Wales, encouraging the view that the bank is super charging its volumes in Sydney's bounding property market.