CBA suspends property investor loans

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the nation's biggest property lender, will stop accepting refinancing applications for investment home loans from next week.

A day after it was revealed that CBA’s Western Australian division, Bankwest, will clamp down on property investor loans the lender has once again tightened the screws on lending to property investors by announcing that it will no longer accept applications from new customers seeking to refinance their stand-alone investment loans from other financial institutions.

The bank told mortgage brokers this week that it will be suspending inwards refinancing for property investor loans and reducing the bank’s investment property lending package discount.

The bank wrote to mortgage brokers this week to advise them of the suspension, which takes place from Monday 13th February.

In its message, the bank says it is committed to “upholding the highest level of professional standards, and meeting our responsible lending and regulatory obligations” and it will suspend the acceptances “to ensure we continue to meet our commitments”.

The CBA, which controls around a quarter of the housing loan market and approximately one in three investor loans, has about AUS$137.2bn (£83.7bn) worth of investor loans on its books.