BoQ steers lending back on track after earlier decline

BOQ has reversed a slide in lending after a slump earlier this year.

In stockmarket disclosures released yesterday, the 190branch lender showed a rise in lending between February and May this year while impaired loans drifted up slightly to $438 million.

“Everything’s tracking as planned,” Bell Potter analyst TS Lim said.

The latest quarterly figures indicate BoQ’s gross residential mortgages lifted from $28.56 billion to $28.76 billion, a 0.7 per cent rise, while other retail lending lifted from $12.6 billion to $12.91 billion, a 2.4 per cent lift.

Mr Lim said BoQ might now be gaining more traction with brokers.

The bank had earlier this year posted a drop in loan growth, which was partly linked to BoQ imposing tougher lending standards and higher rates. But it had said at the time growth was coming, pursuing new lines such as Virgin Money loan offering.

Hunter Green analyst Charlie Green said one factor in the earlier loan book decline could be a reduction in franchised branch numbers. But he said the credit quality of BoQ’s lending reflected the bank not chasing every last loan.

Latest RBA figures show overall industry credit is lifting 5 per cent annually, while housing lending is up 6.6 per cent.