Cool bananas: Westpac's jump in mortgages

The lender and its St George bank unit added more than $3.2 billion worth of new mortgages last month, representing just over 40 per cent of all new loans written. The monthly figures, compiled by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority, contrast with the intense furore sparked by Westpac when it increased interest rates by 45 basis points, nearly twice the level of the Reserve Bank's December rate hike of 25 basis points.

The figures show Westpac's mortgage book grew by 2 per cent during December, compared to Commonwealth Bank and ANZ, which both increased their mortgage book by about 1 per cent. National Australia Bank, which was the only bank to limit its interest rate rise to the RBA's 25 basis point move, grew its mortgage portfolio by just 0.9 per cent.

Westpac also outpaced growth in lending for investment property, growing its loans book by 1.7 per cent during December. CBA grew its housing investment book by 1.1 per cent.

A spokeswoman for Westpac said the figures reflect that customers are looking for overall service proposition, rather than just focusing on pricing.

Separate data released by the Reserve Bank yesterday showed housing credit rose by 0.7 per cent in December and increased by 8.2 per cent over the year, seasonally adjusted.

Other personal credit rose by 0.7 per cent in December, but was down 0.4 per cent over the year. Business credit fell 0.2 per cent in December to be down by 7.0 per cent from a year earlier, the RBA said.