HSBC's mortgage book growth stalls

HSBC's December quarter general disclosure statement (GDS) shows its mortgage book shrank by $4.1 million to $981.4 million in the three months. It had growth by 46.1 million in the September quarter and by $5 million in the June quarter, the first two quarters of growth the bank had recorded since mid-2003 when its mortgage book was $3.02 billion.

"As a result of the current economic climate, many individuals are prudently reducing debt levels and this is no different for our high net worth customer base," says HSBC's head of personal financial services John Barclay.

"However, the overall trend for 2010 was upward and our mortgage book is still growing - particularly with the announcement of our new mortgage campaign for 2011," Barclay says.

Of HSBC's total mortgage portfolio, 96.1% had loan-to-valuation ratios (LVRs) of 80% or less at December 31, up from 95.3% at September 30, while those with LVRs above 90% eased to just 1% of the portfolio from 1.8% three months earlier.