Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd <ANZ.AX> on Thursday posted its first quarterly growth in home loan volumes in its domestic market since mid-2018, riding on the back of a robust housing recovery.
Australia's fourth-largest lender said home loan volumes rose by 0.5% in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with a decline of 2.6% in the previous three months, driven by higher advertising spending and additional investments.
Australia's housing market started the year on a positive note, with annual price growth accelerating at the fastest pace since late 2017.
Despite ANZ servicing loans faster at home, the loans disbursed towards property-focused investors fell 3.3% in the first quarter, but were offset by a 2.5% growth in owner-occupied home loans.
ANZ also said the number of loan defaults in its domestic mortgage portfolio was lower in the first quarter, compared with the final quarter of 2019.
The lender said that the 90 days-plus delinquency levels in the Australian housing sector for the December quarter declined from the previous quarter by eight basis points to 1.08%, primarily from improvements in Western Australia and New South Wales markets.
The improved delinquency profile in the first quarter also saw its total provisions drop by A$40 million, compared with the previous quarter ending Sept. 30, 2019.
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)
