In the US "liar loans" have been identified as one of the key reasons behind the 2008 financial crisis. But how big a problem are poor loan checking practices in Australia?
New credit information-sharing rules promise to open up the consumer credit market to increased competition.
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APRA has updated its guidance to lenders on concerns about the risks to financial stability from the housing market, but it should be focusing more on the banks, not hurting those with a mortgage.
Deceitful Chinese may have trouble getting a mortgage in the not-too-distant future.
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China plans to create a credit reporting system that ranks people on trustworthiness using a all kinds of data, from finances to Facebook. Sound far-fetched? It's happening in the US too.
Will home owners consider the non-bank sector as major banks increase lending rates?
Reuters/David Gray
Last week, Westpac hoisted its lending rate by 20 basis points in a bid to recover the costs of recent capital raisings. There is speculation other banks will follow. Australia’s non-bank lenders could…
Are loans guaranteed by parents adding unnecessary risk to the market?
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First home buyers looking to break into the housing market are turning to their parents, but it's not a risk-free proposition for either party.
Lending standards are so tight that even former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, center, who until recently was one of the most powerful people in the world, can’t refinance his mortgage.
Reuters
It’s clear mortgage standards have gotten too tight when even a former Federal Reserve chairman who makes as much as US$250,000 per speech cannot refinance his home. Ben Bernanke complained about his inability…
Dealing with housing bubbles can get messy for central banks.
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Australia’s central bank has formally flagged the use of macroprudential tools to address what it called “unbalanced” lending in its most recent Financial Stability Review. Loan-to-valuation ratio (LVR…
Greater asset diversification would help Australian banks lock in a buffer for future downturns.
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One of the issues currently being considered by Australia’s Financial System Inquiry is the heavy exposure of Australian banks to the residential mortgage market. The exposure to domestic mortgages, which…
What do your shopping decisions tell marketers about you?
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The days when Coles and Woolworths only sold groceries are long gone. Both are now established players in a broad range of consumer markets, with interests in liquor and hotels, fuel and convenience, general…
Mortgage broker home loans are riskier than those from banks.
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Heightened competition among home lenders has prompted the banking regulator to issue a reminder of what constitutes prudent lending, but its suggestion that loans being generated by mortgage brokers should…
An increasing number of consumers choose a broker over going direct to a bank for their home loan.
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Over 40% of mortgages in Australia are sold by mortgage brokers, not by their manufacturers - an issue that has the CEO of Australia’s fifth largest bank, Suncorp, arguing the sector is skewed towards…
Prior to the global financial crisis, 100% loans were commonplace in Australia.
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Australian banks are much more heavily exposed to mortgage lending than banks in most parts of the world, which is why the latest publication of APRA data on home lending has set the hares running. The…
Minority race loan applicants in the USA are more likely to be denied a loan than Caucasian applicants in similar financial…
Yellow Brick Road and Macquarie Bank plan to offer mortgages against the Big Four banks - but the market will need a lot more information than so far released.
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Kevin Davis, Australian Centre for Financial Studies
Wealth management company Yellow Brick Road and Macquarie Bank have foreshadowed some sort of relationship which will provide a “much-needed alternative for Australian consumers” with the first step being…