Macquarie Bank Updates

Macquarie is updating their competitive low rate offering for new clients. They are also making some changes to their home loan credit assessment process, and their latest serviceability calculator.

These changes came into effect from Thursday 16 April 2020.

We appreciate this is a very difficult time for the many Australians impacted by the coronavirus situation. Our approach is intended to support new borrowings while also ensuring, as part of our responsible lending obligations, customers can meet their loan repayments without undue hardship.

Continue reading for more information on:

  • the introduction of a new rate tier for 60% LVR
  • changes to our credit policy
  • updated serviceability calculator
  • our new website page housing all your FAQs in one place
  • an email contact for our customer solutions team.

New Variable Interest Rate Tier

We're introducing a new variable rate 60% LVR tier for both owner-occupier and investment loans.

These new interest rates start from as low as 2.69% p.a. for variable owner-occupier P&I at 60% LVR.

We hope these new low rates lead to more opportunities and conversations with your clients.

View full rate card here

Credit Policy Changes

For applications where the LVR is less than or equal to 70%, the existing policy applies.
For applications where the LVR is greater than 70% the following rules apply:

  • Loan purposes involving debt consolidation, equity release or cash out (above $5,000 being an allowance for costs) are no longer permitted
  • Maximum debt allowed is equivalent to 6 times the borrower's income
  • Additional income and employment verification requirements now apply to all applications, not just those in impacted industries.

Refinances of existing home loans that maintain current redraw is not deemed cash out and are still permitted.

These changes are effective from Thursday 16 April 2020.

Applications in progress

Please note that existing applications (including all pre-approvals) submitted before Thursday 16 April 2020, have until close of business Friday 24 April 2020 to be formally approved under the existing policy. All formal approvals on and from 25 April 2020 will be assessed under the new credit policy.

Updated Serviceability Calculator

The latest Household Expenditure Measure (HEM) in serviceability calculator update has been incorporated.

These changes are effective from Thursday 16 April 2020.

Download calculator document here

Your Questions Answered Online

So that you can quickly find the answers you need on topics like payment pause, identification, and valuations etc., and FAQ webpage has been created. This page will be updated on a daily basis.

Visit the FAQs page

Skip the phone queue - email Macquarie's customer solutions team for existing loan changes
To help save time, if you or your clients have any queries for existing loans such as fixing interest rates, new discharge instructions, or general retention questions, please contact the customer solutions team on customersolutions@macquarie.com.au.


*WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate.

NAB Economics Data

During these extraordinary times NAB has taken the decision to publish aggregated customer data categorised by industry segment to provide clarity around which segments of the economy have been most affected by the broader macroeconomic trends at play. NAB takes data privacy very seriously. All customer transaction data has been aggregated and no individual's data is specifically identified or analysed as part of this process. The data used in this report will not be sold or made publicly available, but insights from the data will be shared with the Australian people.

The NAB Economics podcast series continues, Alan Oster, Group Chief Economist has recorded a 10-minute summary to accompany the release of this report. To listen, click here.

Overview

  • NAB data shows dramatic falls in consumption-based spending and business payment inflows post COVID-19 containment measures, with the pace of decline continuing to accelerate quite rapidly across many industries.
  • Spending in the year to date has fallen heavily in all states and territories, with Victoria leading the way. By industry sector, spending is down most in Administration & Support Services, Accommodation & Food Services and Transport, Postal & Warehousing, with Construction the only sector recording growth. A handful of sub-industries have seen spending growth including - Internet Publishing & Broadcasting, Construction Services, Gambling Activities, Food Retailing and Building Cleaning & Pest Control.
  • Business payment inflows into NAB merchants have also fallen sharply. Corporates continue to outperform (particularly compared to medium and small business) and inflows remain positive but have fallen steeply in April. By industry, the hit to inflows has been most apparent in the Accommodation & Food Services (particularly Clubs, Pubs, Cafes, Restaurants & Takeaway Food) and Arts & Recreation Services (particularly Amusement & Other Activities and Sports & Physical Recreation) - sectors that have borne the brunt of forced business closures and social isolation measures. Inflows are also down heavily in Mining.
  • Inflows are holding up best in Wholesale Trade - the only sector recording growth in inflows. Other industries holding up comparatively well include Health Care & Social Assistance and Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, although payment incomes are well down on the previous month.
  • Big falls have also been recorded in parts of Retail including Clothing, Footwear & Personal Accessories, Department Stores and Motor Vehicles. Only two sub-sectors reported positive gains in payment inflows - Specialised Food Retailing and Hardware, Building & Garden Supplies.

For a detailed insight, please see the attached report.

MFAA Finalists

Adding to the growing list of accolades and acknowledgments, Vow Financial has received the following nominations to the very prestigious MFAA State Excellence Awards 2020:

  • Rohan Puls Victorian Business Development Manager Award - Aggregator
  • Newcomer Award: James Durrant (TV Financial Services)
  • Regional Finance Broker: Tamara Virgo (TV Financial Services)
  • Preeti Vaish - Finalist for Commercial Finance Broker of the Year
  • Helen Gray - Finalist for Regional Finance Broker of the Year
  • Peter Bryant - NSW Aggregator

Hosted by Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia (MFAA)- the peak national body for professional mortgage and finance brokers along with mortgage managers and aggregators, these awards are one of the most coveted recognitions in the Australian mortgage industry.

Award finalists, you do us proud! These nominations are a testament to our exceptional customer service and hard work. We wish you all the best and look forward to your win on the awards night.

La Trobe's Changes

La Trobe have had some changes in the last week relating to development and construction finance. The maximum amount for a single construction is now $1m.

For development deals, the maximum amount that will be lent is $5m. Additionally, anything over $2m needs 100% debt coverage in pre-sale.

Other important changes have been outlined below.

Residential Lending Suite

  • Residential Full Doc & Lite Doc O/O special has been discontinued
  • Across both Full Doc & Lite Doc max lending of $2m (80% max up to $1.25m - 75% max $1.25m-$2m)
  • SMSF Residential lending max adjusted to $1.25m lend
  • Construction - Residential max lend adjusted to $1m with a rate increase to 7.99% (Can still consider duplex build)
  • Construction - Residential max LVR 70%
  • We will until further notice suspend lending to Non-Resident where income is derived overseas. We may consider an application with Bridging Visa's & PR applications submitted but, the applicant will need to show Australian Income.

Commercial Lending Suite

  • LVR on all commercial products reduced to 65%
  • All Commercial products- the maximum amount that can be lent is $2m
  • Development Finance- the maximum amount that can be lent is $5m
  • Any Development Finance over $2m in lending needs 100% Debt coverage through pre-sales
  • Development finance up to $2m does not need pre-sale unless there are other issues
  • Max LVR on development finance is 60% across the board
  • A rate increase of 9.95% up to $2m. From $2m to $5m is 10.95%
  • A fee is still 1.50%

Please see the attached product guide which you can see their rates and fees. As you will probably notice, their specials have been removed from the matrix and have come back to their base rates.

*WARNING: This comparison rate is true only for the examples given and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate.

Vow Golf Club Fundraiser

With the generous support of Vow, the Vow Social Golf Club recently raised $8,379 for the Melanoma Institute of Australia (MIA) and Motor Neuron Disease NSW (MND NSW) - split 50/50 between the 2 charities.

St Michaels Golf Course was amazing, and we were blessed with such a beautiful day, with players and sponsors enjoying delicious food on the course and at the 19th hole.

A big thank you to the team at Charity Challenge, Amy Dimech, James Aitchison, Gary Fowler & Rob Porter for running the event.

We also couldn't have done it without our sponsors.

Thanks to Vow (Platinum Sponsor), Suncorp/Vero (Hydration Sponsor), Prospa (Nutrition Sponsor), Resi Home Loans, Platform Group, Westpac, Scottish Pacific, NAB, ING, Pepper, Valiant Finance, Option Group (Jason Meares), YBR Balmain, LJ Hooker Lane Cove and Jay Anderson Property. It's times like these when we realise the importance of our health, so we hope to grow this charity event each year, so we can raise much-needed funds to fight diseases of all kinds.

Congratulations to event winners:

Doona Borg, Wendy Hoang & Lara Watt

Next year we hope to build on this year's successful fundraising efforts so that we can help even more charities fight diseases that affect all of us, our friends and our families. We look forward to welcoming back our sponsors to support the event in 2021 and be joined by some new faces next year.

Do you want to join the Vow Social Golf Club?

If you are looking for a round of golf once a month and registered AGU Handicap?

Then ask your BDM who can put you in contact with the VSGC.

On behalf of the golf club committee, Vow, MIA & MND NSW we would like to thank you all and see everyone again next year.

Broker Video Resource

Bankwest have developed a video for brokers with a ready reckoner on Bankwest's support measures, policy updates and digital resources which are all designed to help brokers keep their business going through this tough time. This is hot off the press!
Please feel free to incorporate this video in any relevant broker communications.