Macquarie eyes a slice of Aussie banks' home mortgage pie

[SYDNEY] Australia's largest investment bank Macquarie Group Ltd is pushing rapidly into home mortgages, threatening to disrupt a highly profitable segment of the banking industry long dominated by the country's top four lenders.

Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ANZ), Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB) and Westpac Banking Corp are on track to report a combined record profit for the fifth consecutive year. Part of the profit stems from their leading positions in the country's US$1.25 trillion mortgage market.

Together, the four write as much as 90 per cent of the nation's home loans. They typically make a profit of almost A$75,000 (S$89,000) over the lifetime of an average sized 25-year home loan, excluding fees charged, according to estimates by The Australia Institute, a Canberra-based think tank.