CBA expects mortgage profit to rise this year

SYDNEY: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country’s largest lender, expects to grow its US$378bil (RM1.56 trillion) home loan book by about 5% this year, leading to increased mortgage profit of about 3%, chief executive officer Matt Comyn said yesterday.

Strong economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic fuelled by the near-zero cost of money, paired with a “miraculous” turnaround in the labour market, will likely push record house prices even higher, Comyn also said at a biannual parliamentary questioning of the heads of Australia’s four biggest banks.