Wide Bay addresses its 'challenges'

This time last year Wide Bay Australia was struggling to make headway in its mortgage business. Like a lot of other lenders, it found its customers were paying off their loans faster than the bank could write new business. Things are better now but not a lot better.

Yesterday the building society reported that its loan book grew by A$47 million during the six months to December, from $2.22 billion to $2.27 billion. That is an annualised growth rate of 4.5 per cent, about half the industry average.

New lending volumes increased by 32.7 per cent, with approvals rising from $176 million in the six months to December 2013 to $234 million in the latest half.

Wide Bay chairman John Humphrey said in a statement that the group faced "challenges" in its core market, which includes mining areas in Queensland.

Net profit for the half was $6.5 million - down from $7.2 million in the previous corresponding period. Earnings in the previous corresponding period were boosted by an $841,000 adjustment to provisions in Wide Bay's captive mortgage insurer, Mortgage Risk Management.

The bad debt charge increased from $180,000 to $424,000.

The group's capital adequacy ratio was 14.9 per cent, which exceeded the board's target.

The company said the installation of a new core banking system, which went live this month, would help increase sales of mortgages, personal loans and business loans.

Wide Bay will become Auswide Bank on April 1. The group will use its re-branding to broaden its market.

It is investing in personnel training and enhancement of broker channels to enhance growth.

It suffered a setback earlier this month when it agreed to review its lending standards, in response to Australian Securities and Investments Commission concerns about the way it was assessing its customers' suitability for home loans.

ASIC's view was that, in making loan approvals, Wide Bay relied too heavily on limited information supplied by a finance broker.