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As Australia’s property market continues to fire up a senior Westpac Banking Corporation (ASX:WBC) banker has denied the mortgage market is overheating.
The bank’s Australian Financial Services chief executive Brian Hartzer told a business lunch is Sydney yesterday lenders are not cutting their credit standards to lure new customers.
While Mr Hartzer said households’ capacity to cover their borrowing requirements remains “pretty good” he cautioned banks must be “alert to the possibility of things getting ahead of themselves”.
Consulting firm Digital Finance Analytics reported earlier this week the average loan-to-valuation ratio (LVR) for new mortgages has increased over the past year.
Westpac's average loan-to-valuation ratio has increased 3 per cent to 72 per cent over the year in the wake of greater borrowing to fuel the demand for property.
Westpac Banking Corporation reported net profit of $6.89 billion in the 2013 financial year.
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