Business

ASB mortgage lending up in quarter

06:15 am on 6 November 2014

ASB Bank's mortgage lending grew by $297 million in the three months ended September, but its lending to those with less than a 20 percent deposit continues to shrink dramatically.

The bank's profit for the three months jumped 9.3 percent to $223 million.

ASB was head and shoulders above other banks in lending to those with small deposits before lending restrictions came into force.

In the June quarter of last year, such lending accounted for 73 percent of ASB's new mortgages.

In the latest quarter, ASB's lending to such people shrank by $261 million, while its lending to those with deposits of 20 percent or more surged by $558 million.

Because of its Auckland heritage, ASB is the most exposed of all the banks to the North Island city's housing market, where homes are much more expensive than elsewhere in the country.