''The idea Australian borrowers are far ahead of schedule is not really reflected for the average borrower. It's true that some borrowers are ahead of schedule, but not all borrowers,'' Mr Zanesi said.
The Reserve Bank has previously said the proportion of Australians paying their mortgage ahead of schedule was high, ahead of other countries.
But Mr Zanesi said his analysis suggested we were only slightly ahead of European nations.
Official figures show the ratio of debt to disposable income had risen to a three-year high of 148.8 per cent. Reserve governor Glenn Stevens last month said a further big rise would be a concern.
But banks and some analysts say this ratio overstates households' debt position because it does not take into account the role of mortgage offset accounts. The Fitch report, the first of its kind, confirmed borrowers were indeed ahead, but found the size of voluntary repayments was ''surprisingly low''.
It also said high saving was not the main reason loans were being paid down quickly. Instead, it said the early repayment of debt had more to do with refinancing by borrowers and redraw products, which allow people to borrow more than they needed and treat their mortgage as a low-cost line of credit. http://www.smh.com.au/business/borr...uffer-could-spell-trouble-20140515-38cv7.html
