{
  "id": 819332,
  "title": "As home loan applications drop, the big four banks face a growing challenge from Macquarie",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/13/as-home-loan-applications-drop-the-big-four-banks-face-a-growing",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-13T23:22:02.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Conversation AU",
    "slug": "the-conversation-au",
    "url": "https://theconversation.com/as-home-loan-applications-drop-the-big-four-banks-face-a-growing-challenge-from-macquarie-288519"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Over the past week, all four of Australia's biggest banks have experienced drops in new home loan applications, ranging from 12% to 20%. The Reserve Bank has confirmed that demand for new home loans has \"declined noticeably\" after the federal budget, which announced that interest rates would remain unchanged. This decline is good news for customers seeking new or refinanced home loans, as it means banks are competing harder to win over customers. The dominance of Australia's \"big four\" banks is waning, as at least 31 smaller lenders have begun offering slightly lower variable home loan rates for new customers. One of these smaller lenders is Macquarie Bank, which has grown its share of the Australian mortgage market from just 0.19% in 2010 to now holding 7.33% of home loans as of June 2026. This is still far less than the market share held by the \"big four\" banks in June 2026, with Commonwealth Bank holding 25.36% of home loans and Westpac at 20.66%. However, Macquarie's growth has been striking, with its Australian mortgage portfolio increasing from $34.3 billion to $191.5 billion in June 2026 - more than fivefold. Macquarie's strategy has shifted towards relying more heavily on mortgage brokers, with around 95% of its home loans now coming through brokers. This online-only, broker-led banking model gives Macquarie a significant cost advantage over traditional banks, which still need to maintain extensive branch, ATM and cash networks across Australia. While Macquarie doesn't always offer the lowest rates among all home lenders, its focus on fast processing, predictable credit decisions, and a digital system to manage loan applications has helped it attract low-risk borrowers with stable incomes, good credit records and healthy deposits. As the cash rate is on hold at 4.35%, Macquarie is also increasing its competition with the big four banks by offering at-call savings accounts with interest rates over 5%, which have fewer conditions than the big four's comparable accounts. This provides an important source of mortgage funding for Macquarie. While it is difficult to predict whether Macquarie will eventually overtake the big four banks, its rapid growth and focus on streamlining the home loan process for customers could put pressure on the larger banks to become more competitive.",
  "summary": "Macquarie is among dozens of smaller lenders – but not yet the biggest four – to start offering slightly lower interest rates, as banks compete for fewer customers.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}