Focus on first-home buyers drives bank's growth
Great Southern Bank issued $4.23 billion in new or additional lending to homebuyers during the financial year 2024, including $1.32 billion to first-home buyers, the bank reported in its recently released annual results.
The bank’s home loan book grew to more than $16.2 billion, expanding at 1.2 times the market rate. The bank also saw a rise in investor lending, with investors now representing 25% of new home loans.
Lending to first-home buyers increased by 5.1%, with the average loan rising to $518,000, reflecting the ongoing rise in home prices.
The lender maintained a strong market share in the first-home buyer segment, supporting 2.1% of all Australians entering the property market for the first time, nearly three times its overall market share.
The bank posted a group net profit after tax of $37.3 million for FY24, attributed to strong customer retention, home loan growth, and effective cost management. Net interest income remained steady at $349.1 million, despite competitive pressures and compressed margins. Operating costs increased by 3.3% due to inflation and rising living costs.
Despite a slight increase in 90-plus day home loan arrears, Great Southern Bank’s arrears rate remains less than half of the industry average. The bank also provided support to vulnerable customers, entering over 35,000 payment plans or hardship arrangements during the year.
The bank’s broker net promoter score, which measures broker satisfaction, ranked third nationally out of 37 lenders and first among non-major banks. Additionally, the bank was ranked first for on-time home loan settlements each month of FY24, according to data from PEXA.
“Since rebranding as Great Southern Bank three years ago, we’ve comprehensively transformed our operations, become more efficient and more competitive,” said Paul Lewis (pictured above), managing director and chief executive of Great Southern Bank. “Our home lending decisions are being made faster than ever before.”
According to Lewis, the bank continues to invest in its future growth, particularly through its new small business offering.
“We are reinvesting profits back into the bank to continue supporting Australian homebuyers,” he said.
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