Wednesday, 18 November 2020

Loan deferrals down 70pc

Deferrals easing

At the peak of the pandemic, more than 900,000 of loans were deferred, according to the Australian Banking Association.

The ABA reported that the equivalent figure has now fallen to under 300,000, following further solid progress into the month of November. 

The value of loans deferred by the top seven banks has dropped from around $250 billion to $87 billion.


Source: ABA

That's a decline of about 70 per cent from the pandemic's Antipodean peak.

Borderline y-axis 'chart crimes' aside, this represents further decent move in the right direction. 

Home loan deferrals outstanding have declined by more than two-thirds from the peak, from 496,139 to 145,250, with the remainder somewhat skewed towards loans of Victorian origination. 

Commonwealth Bank's Matt Comyn reported that housing demand has picked up due to record low rates and the potential for positive gearing, while the speed of the economic recovery looks set to surprise pleasantly to the upside for CBA, with GDP forecasts being revised up accordingly.