“More customer-owned banks on the HGS panel will create a more dynamic, inclusive, and competitive market. Ultimately, this increased competition and choice will benefit first-home buyers.”
Currently, more than half of customer-owned institutions – 29 banks and credit unions – are excluded from the HGS lender panel. Yet the sector collectively serves over 5.4 million Australians, many of them in regional and outer suburban areas where affordability challenges are especially acute.
A strategic boost for mortgage brokers
The influx of mutuals into the panel will increase choice and enable brokers to match clients with lenders that offer more tailored, community-based services – particularly valuable for borrowers who fall outside the “vanilla” profiles preferred by the majors.
Some customer-owned banks specialise in lending to frontline workers like teachers, nurses, and police officers, many of whom struggle to buy homes in the communities they serve.
Others are regionally headquartered, in towns like Toowoomba, Broken Hill, and Albury, making them well-placed to serve buyers in rural and regional areas targeted by the Regional First Home Buyer Guarantee.