Australian banks enter tech arms race as rising rates squeeze profit

Pedestrians pass an Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd branch in Sydney, Australia. National Australia Bank Ltd (NAB), Westpac Banking Corp and ANZ all pointed to automation to offset the impact of a cooling property market. — Bloomberg

SYDNEY: The 10-minute home loan – at the tap of a smartphone screen – is emerging as the next frontier in Australian banking as rising interest rates quash a pandemic-fuelled property boom, eating into mortgage income and renewing focus on cost-cutting tech.

The Big Four lenders booked blockbuster profit during the Covid-19 pandemic due to a leap of nearly one-third in property prices since 2020, but raging inflation brought a shock rate hike this month and expectations of several more.