Westpac says Labor’s expanded first home buyers scheme saw 150% jump in loan applications
by Luca Ittimani and Jonathan Barrett from World news | The Guardian on (#716GB)
Big bank also reveals it has ceased corporate lending to thermal coalmines, but it still funds oil and gas extraction businesses
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Home loan applications have surged in response to the government's expanded 5% deposit scheme, according to Westpac, as first home buyers pile into a hot property market accelerating at its fastest pace in years.
Applications for government-guaranteed mortgages at the big bank more than doubled in October 2025 compared with October 2024, after a 150% jump when the scheme expanded on 1 October, Nathan Goonan, the bank's chief financial officer, said on Monday.
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