THE nation's big banks should heed the warning lights that had started flashing on some of their aggressive lending practices, a big player in the non-conforming mortgage market said. Bluestone chief executive Alistair Jeffery said mortgage accounts in arrears had already started to "pop up", suggesting that foreclosures would start to rise after a nine to 12-month period. "Now is not the time to be writing aggressive credits," Mr Jeffery said.
Yesterday's Reserve Bank statement noted that aggressive competition for business had shaved lenders' margins and there were concerns yesterday that the rise in rates would force lenders to lower their standards to keep business coming in.
Mr Jeffery said one of the big four banks already had a policy of not requiring credit checks for a proposed loan that was less than 80 per cent of a property's value.