CBA stops refinances of Investment Home Loans

CBA stopped!

NAB is still committed to investment lending

 

Wow CBA have just announced this too. That is a major change.

 

Yes major:

Commonwealth Bank is committed to consistently delivering the best customer experience for home buyers, upholding the highest level of professional standards, and meeting our responsible lending and regulatory obligations.

To ensure we continue to meet our commitments, from Monday 13th February we will be suspending the acceptance of new refinance applications for Investment Home Loans, until further notice.

Applications which include both Investor and Owner Occupier loans are not impacted. Standalone Investor refinance applications submitted prior to the 13th of February will be processed, subject to our normal lending criteria.

 

To ensure we continue to meet our commitments, from Monday 13th February we will be suspending the acceptance of new refinance applications for Investment Home Loans, until further notice.

• As well as reduced pricing for Investment Loans and no more $1250 refi rebates for INV loans.

This is a pretty massive change given CBA's size, policy suite and ability to serve investors growing portfolios.

It will (likely) be temporary though.

 

CBA are the largest lender out there, so something like this will send ripples, or waves out. Other lenders will end up with higher numbers of investment loan refinancings coming in and this could then lead to them being investment heavy which may cause them to put on the brakes too.

 

So they aren't refinancing investment loans from 13 Feb. But does that also mean they'll cease lending on (new) investment property purchases??

 

Heard this from a mate at CBA a few days back.
Great news for brokers if all the others follow suit. Soon enough people wont be able to walk in off the streets to a lender anymore.

 

Why not?

 

Lol, and no one will be able to move lenders at all!
Or qualify for their second loan.

 

This is by far the most significant non-servicing change in a long while - it will lead to rolling re-balancing across the market.

 

Are you guys finding that serviceability criteria for OO's has also gotten more stringent - or is it solely for investors?

 

No. still accepting

 

APRA

 

Both, especially where there are multiple loans or large existing loans in existance.

 

OK in that case, since banks won't play ball, what we need now is this:
- increase in immigration
- reduction of dev projects or feasibility of projects in pipeline ie reduction in supply

then...potential rental boom.

Speaking selfishly as an evil landlord of course.

 

That really doesn't make much sense to me - what is the diff?

 

I reckon it will mean cba getting more business, in the short term at least, as that investment refi needs to now be accompanied by the ppor refi.....

 

Any idea of CBA's market share in the investor space?
Surely only a temporary measure as share holders demand growing revenues along with dividends.

 

They are probably a bit top heavy in investment loans so partially reducing them by restricting refinancing can still allow them to help those purchasing.

 

Getting people to move across their ppor when buying or refinancing an inv will help with their rebalancing too.

It's not clear in their email, I wonder if they would consider an investment purchase alongside an investment refinance.