ANZ says mortgage applications slip as Australia backs $2.5 billion smelter rescue
Bank said home loan application values fell 12% after Australia’s May federal budget, even as it posted a A$1.9 billion quarterly profit and the
ANZ Bank said home loan application values fell 12% after Australia’s May federal budget, even as it posted a A$1.9 billion quarterly profit and the government weighed a A$2.5 billion bailout for a smelter in the name of the “national interest.” The twin developments landed on a soft day for Australian markets, with bank shares moving higher even as the wider sharemarket slipped.
The lender’s update pointed to a cooler mortgage market beneath otherwise sturdy earnings and margins. ANZ said underlying application values dropped 5% quarter on quarter, while the 12% fall was measured from the 12 May budget to the end of July. Including the government’s 5% Deposit Scheme, application values in the third quarter were broadly unchanged from the previous three months. One bright spot. First-home buyers helped cushion the slide.
Mortgage demand cools
The figures add to signs that borrowing appetite is softening across Australia’s big banks after the budget and amid shifting tax settings and higher rates. Suncorp Bank’s home-loan book also contracted in the June quarter, while rival lenders have flagged weaker requests for new loans. The pressure is uneven, but it is real.
ANZ’s profit update, by contrast, gave investors something to hold onto. Its shares climbed 3.4% in early trade, helping the broader financial sector resist a weaker market open.
Smelter rescue framed as national interest
At the same time, Australia was set to commit A$2.5 billion to support a smelter, with the rescue described as being in the national interest. The planned intervention underscores how governments in resource-heavy economies are still stepping in when large industrial assets face strain. Energy costs, jobs and supply chains. All of it is in play.
The support package also lands in a broader global setting where governments in Europe, North America and parts of Asia have been under pressure to protect heavy industry as power prices, climate policy and weak margins squeeze operations.
For ANZ, the message from the quarter was clear: lending remains solid enough to deliver profit, but the pipeline for new home loans has lost some momentum. As the bank put it, government-backed first-home buyer activity helped offset a softer broader mortgage market.
