Reserve Bank eases up on LVR
HOUSING and dairying debt remain at the forefront of Reserve Bank concerns, but a softening in house price growth has prompted the central bank to ease its loantovalue ratio (LVR) restrictions on banks’ lending criteria.
The changes mean a larger number of people with small deposits could now get bank financing.
However, for investors, the unchanged 5% cap on investor lending by banks will likely negate the lowered deposit criteria.
The Reserve Bank’s sixmonthly economic stability report was expected by economists to ease the LVRs, which were also eased a year ago since being implemented in 2013, to rein in increasing bank exposure to rising household debt at the time.
Reserve Bank governor Adrian Orr said risks to New Zealand’s financial system had eased during the past six months, but vulnerabilities persisted.
‘‘In particular, households remain exposed to financial shocks due to their large mortgage debt burden,’’ Mr Orr said.
ASB chief economist Nick Tuffley said the LVR easing could ‘‘at the margin’’ see more housingrelated inflation, but he noted after last year’s LVR easing the inflationary impact ‘‘appeared insignificant’’.
He noted house sales turnover and listings rose sharply in October, while mortgage rates had been falling for months, now below 4% to borrowers with a 20% deposit.
‘‘Relaxation of the LVR restrictions is not without some risk, even though Auckland risks are slowly dissipating through a sustained period of flat prices,’’ he said.
Mr Orr said easing the LVR was done given both mortgage credit growth and house price inflation had eased to more sustainable rates, reducing the riskiness of banks’ new housing lending.
‘‘If banks’ lending standards are maintained, we expect to further ease LVR restrictions over the next few years,’’ Mr Orr said.
The Reserve Bank report said the dairy sector was now ‘‘highly indebted’’, after a period of strong investment, rising land prices but then two significant milk price downturns in the past decade.
‘‘Debt in the dairy sector is concentrated, with some farms carrying disproportionately large debts,’’ the report said.
Mr Orr said the high dairy debt implied ‘‘ongoing financial vulnerability’’.
‘‘Balance sheets need to be further strengthened. In the mediumterm, an industry response to a variety of climate changerelated challenges appears likely, requiring investment,’’ he also noted.
Mr Tuffley said financial stress in the dairy sector was falling, and banks were tracking less dairy lending to farms which were showing signs of stress.
On the question of banks hold
ing more regulatory capital, Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon said higher capital requirements would provide banks with a greater buffer against unexpected losses.
‘‘But they tend to increase the
average cost of funding; as equity is a more expensive form of funding than debt or deposits.
That change would represent a tightening of financial conditions, to go with the easing via the LVR changes, he said.
Mr Orr said while domestic risks had eased, global financial vulnerability had risen.
He cited significant buildups in debt and asset prices and ongoing geopolitical tensions.
‘‘This vulnerability is highlighted by the current elevated price volatility in equity and debt markets,’’ he said.
New Zealand’s exposure to those global risks has ‘‘reduced
somewhat’’, given New Zealand banks were now less reliant on shortterm, and foreign, funding.
‘‘We’re using this period of relative calm to reassess whether the banking system has sufficient capital to weather future extreme shocks,’’ he said.
He said the Reserve Bank’s preliminary view was higher capital requirements were necessary, so the banking system would be sufficiently resilient while remaining efficient.
A The Reserve Bank is to release a final consultation paper on bank capital requirements next month.