Challenger Limited’s recent decision to abandon its flirtation with the banking industry appears to make strategic sense given some revealing information in the latest edition of APRA’s monthly statistics.

Challenger established a beachhead in Australian banking in July 2021 after the regulator approved its A$35 million acquisition of the diminutive MyLifeMyFinance franchise.

However, the official data indicate that the foray has been a mini-disaster for Challenger.

Since MyLifeMyFinance was joined to the Challenger group 13 months ago, the business has suffered sharp declines in household deposits and mortgage assets.

At the end of July 2021, MyLifeMyFinance was holding $239 million of household deposits and boasted a home loan book worth $211 million.

In the following 12 months trading as “Challenger Bank” household deposits contracted to $209 million and the mortgage book plunged to $87 million.

With little in the way of assets and liabilities left to sell, Challenger seems destined to offload its banking arm at a handsome loss.