| Banks engaging in anti-competitive behaviour: Choice
Australian banks and financial institutions are engaging in anti-competitive behaviour in the home loan industry, according to the consumer group Choice. Research from Choice shows extremely high mortgage exit and entry fees are often preventing borrowers from switching to a better deal on their home loan. Choice's director of policy and campaigns Gordon Renouf says these high fees are undermining the competitive interest rates being offered by independent lenders. "The problem is that if you see someone else with a quarter or a half a per cent better mortgage rate, you're going to be reluctant to change if you're going to be paying $1,000 or $2,000 to get out of your mortgage contract," he said. "It's going to take a while before you reap that money back from a lower rate." But the Australian Bankers Association chief executive David Bell says Australian mortgage fees exist to ensure proper background checks on borrowers take place.
Loans Emerging from your Property
Loans against residential property are the cheapest options available to the homeowners. These loan plans can offer more loan amount at lower rate of interest. A loan against your home is granted only when you are willing to pledge it as a security, and therefore, there are chances of losing it if you fail to repay the loan in time. Hence, before deciding, you would like to ensure that you can afford the loan, and comfortably make the repayment. Lenders can sanction the full amount of equity present in your residential property as loan amount, though generally it is only restricted to a certain percentage. If you opt for a secured loan of longer period, the instalments will be smaller, but the quantum of interest will become larger. You have to make the choice according to your need and requirement, and choose the lender that caters to your requirement.
CUA axes variable loan sales by brokers
AUSTRALIA'S largest credit union is the latest credit crunch victim, suspending sales of all its variable home loans through brokers. Credit Union Australia has told brokers the sales would stop from today, although it would continue to sell the loans through its branch network. "As a result of recent events in financial markets and following a review of CUA's broker distribution model, CUA will temporarily withdraw its variable interest rate product range from this Friday," the credit union said in a note to brokers. CUA is also by far Australia's largest mutual society, with 388,000 members and $6.6 billion in assets. CUA merged last year with the Australian National Credit Union to form the new entity. It was named credit union of the year this year by Money magazine.
Boom not to be sneezed at
But while the post-Christmas retail sales suggest an economy roaring along much as a downhill skier on a black run, there are dangers. Not so much of a crash, but certainly of losing the skis. This is not necessarily because of the continued fallout of the subprime mortgage collapse in the US. What will contribute significantly to the Reserve Bank raising interest rates on February 5 are big spending consumers upping the heat on the economy. Queensland leads the way. The Australian economy is booming. But Queensland is the engine room. Do you think this is hyperbole? Consider this: Queenslanders, in a gesture of enormous confidence in the health of the economy and its bright outlook, splashed out over the Christmas and New Year period, a record, $8.6 billion.
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