Small lenders struggle for business
The market share of non-bank lenders in the housing finance market declined for the eighth straight month in June, monthly data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows.The ABS put the market share of non-banks (which includes credit unions and building societies) at 7.5 per cent in June, on a seasonally adjusted basis, only slightly less than in May, but well down from a recent peak in market share, of 12.1 per cent, in November 2010. The market share of non-banks is almost as low as it was in early 2009, when the effect of the Australian government's support for smaller lenders (through the Australian Office of Financial Management) was yet to kick in.Some AOFM support, however, is for smaller banks that are themselves gaining market share.The value of housing finance commitments overall in June fell 1.4 per cent, to A$20.2 billion, the ABS said. Monthly volumes of new business have hovered around the $20 billion level for the last year.Taking advantage of falling yields in the fixed interest market, Commonwealth Bank yesterday cut its one, two, three four and five year fixed home rates by as much as 60 basis points.Not a noted rate-leader, Commonwealth is in the unusual position of having the lowest rates in the market for most of these terms.The bank is hoping that the general level of anxiety over market movements will prompt borrowers to seek the safety of a guaranteed monthly mortgage payment. The one-year rate was cut by 25 basis points to 6.59 per cent; the two-year rate was cut by 35 basis points to 6.59 per cent; the three-year rate was cut by 40 basis points to 6.59 per cent; the four-year rate was cut by 55 basis points to 6.99 per cent, and the five-year rate was cut by 60 basis points to 6.99 per cent.According to the comparison site Infochoice, CBA's two-year rate is 10 basis points cheaper than that of its nearest rival, St George, and its three-year rate is 11 basis points cheaper than MyRate's 6.7 per cent offering.