Australia biggest banks’ mortgage growth to slow, JP Morgan says

Commonwealth Bank of Australia and the country’s biggest lenders may end a push to boost their share of the mortgage market as wholesale funding for the loans becomes scarcer and business credit demand recovers, according to JPMorgan Chase and Fujitsu. The resumption of business credit growth by 2011 means Australian banks will have to prioritize lending and allocate more funds to companies rather than home buyers, according to the semiannual JPMorgan/Fujitsu Australia Mortgage Industry Report released Thursday. The nations’ top four banks — Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Westpac Banking Corp., Australia & New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank — used the financial crisis to extend mortgage market dominance as smaller lenders struggled to obtain credit. The banks have increased their share of local mortgages to 76% from 65% before the tightening of global credit, according to the report.