Non-bank home lenders are being muscled out as the credit crunch leaves them unable to compete with the big banks - and that means higher interest rates all round.
Looking for someone to write you a cheap mortgage? Don't go to Virgin Money.
Why not?
Because the business, previously funded by Macquarie Group, can't get money at the right price and its doors are closed to new business. Or, as Virgin Money spins it on its website: "The cost of money is currently so high that we're unable to bring you the great value home loan we're synonymous with."
So tough luck.
And tough luck if you're a franchisee with mortgage provider Wizard as well. One of the biggest financial powerhouses in the world, GE Money, can't figure out how to make the business work properly and is looking to sell it.
Or, as GE Money's Australian chief executive, Mike Cutter, spins it: "A different ownership structure will allow GE Money to make the best use of capital and focus on higher returning segments that better leverage our core strengths."
And if you're wondering how Mark Bouris is thinking he will turn a buck from the Wizard business he ] sold to GE for $500 million in 2004, you are not alone.
There are plenty in the industry scratching their heads about Bouris's open flirtation with buying back into a non-bank lending industry facing serious challenges.
In fact, there's plenty of tough luck to be had all round for anyone relying on the frozen credit markets. And that means tough luck for anyone who has a home loan.
There is one simple message for a home loan borrower: Your mortgage rate is going to go up as a result of the credit crisis. Again.
Yes, it's going to go up even more than it has already gone up. Yes, it's likely to go up whether you are with a bank or a non-bank lender. And it is going to go up independently of any moves by the Reserve Bank on the official cash rate.
Don't take our word for it. This is what the head of Australia's largest home loan lender, Commonwealth Bank's chief executive, Ralph Norris, said this month: "Over time, interest rates being charged will increase unless we see significant drops in rates both internationally and locally."
The dire fate facing non-bank lenders - and home loan borrowers in general - started with the unprecedented ructions emanating from the awful performance of US subprime loans.
Global confidence in the debt markets was knocked for a six. The costs for banks to borrow money leapt from about 0.3 percentage points above a benchmark rate to 1.3 percentage points above a benchmark rate for three-year loans
