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ANZ Group has reported a sharp decline in Australian home loan applications following changes to property investment tax concessions, while stronger margins and lower-than-expected bad debts helped lift its third-quarter performance.
The Australian lender said mortgage applications have fallen 12% since the Labor government removed lucrative property investment tax breaks in its May Budget. ANZ is the latest of Australia’s Big Four banks to highlight weakening housing borrowing demand, with major lenders reporting application declines ranging from 12% to 20%.
Despite the mortgage slowdown, ANZ recorded A$1.9 billion ($1.3 billion) in cash earnings for the three months ended June. Its net interest margin, a key measure of banking profitability, increased by one basis point to 1.54%.
ANZ shares climbed as much as 3.4% in early Thursday trading, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200, which fell about 0.4%. Analysts pointed to improved cost management as a major factor supporting investor sentiment. Quarterly costs declined 3% to A$2.75 billion, excluding a NZ$125 million ($73.3 million) class action settlement.
The bank also reported a A$102 million bad-debt charge, significantly below analyst estimates of as much as A$205 million. Non-performing loans remained stable despite three Australian interest rate increases this year.
Australia’s housing market has shown additional signs of weakness. Property consultant Cotality reported auction clearance rates at six-year lows, while average property prices have dropped approximately 2% over four months.
The Big Four Australian banks control more than 70% of the country’s mortgage market, making residential lending an important source of banking revenue.
ANZ said lending growth and slightly stronger margins supported quarterly earnings, with net interest income excluding markets rising 2% compared with the first-half quarterly average. Its common equity tier 1 capital ratio stood at 12.51% as of June 30.
Following the results, Jefferies increased its ANZ earnings-per-share forecasts for both 2026 and 2027 by 2%, while maintaining a “hold” rating on the bank.
