ANZ gearing up for home loans market

Retail banking chief's "selectively easing" qualifications have already made impact on US$1.08 trillion home loan industry.

The ramp up has already had an impact in the industry, with leading mortgage brokers such as Mortgage Choice reporting that they originated more loans for ANZ in January than any other bank.

ANZ tightened qualifying standards on most forms of lending in 2009 amid concern over funding costs and the long-term capacity of new borrowers to service debt.

That allowed Commonwealth Bank and Westpac to dominate lending activity, which soared on the back of the Federal Government's first-homeowner's grant.

However, in his first interview since joining ANZ in November, retail banking chief Phil Chronican said ANZ was now "selectively easing" lending criteria and upgrading its mortgage processing capacity to take on more home borrowers.

"ANZ last year took the view it would dial back the risk in all loan books which included some risk settings on mortgages which were pretty conservative in hindsight, but understandable at the time," he told BusinessDaily.

"We're now easing it selectively. We will take a more flexible approach to lending, particularly with existing customers who have consistent track records."

View the full report in Herald Sun.