8 of 10 largest lenders in Australia grew mortgage books in July

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) has released its monthly ADI statistics report for July 2025. APRA’s latest figures show the housing loan books for owner-occupier and investment housing. An analysis of APRA’s data finds that eight of Australia’s ten largest housing lenders expanded in July, lifting the combined loan book by $7.05 billion to $2.16 trillion, with Macquarie recognising the fastest growth of any top 10 bank.

Key stats you need to know

• The top 10 housing loan book reached $2.16 trillion in July 2025, up $7.05 billion month on month.
  
  
• Macquarie led growth with a $3.21 billion increase (+2.22%), while Bank of Queensland contracted by $0.92 billion (-1.64%).
  
  
• The country’s largest bank, CBA, added $2.17 billion in July (+0.37%), the second-largest monthly uplift across the top 10 moving to a total residential mortgage loan book of $595.8 billion.

Growth was broad-based across the top 10

• Eight of the ten largest housing lenders recorded growth in July. The median monthly change across the top 10 was +0.28%.
  
  
• The Big 4 contributed $4.12 billion to the uplift, while other lenders added $2.92 billion. CBA, NAB and ANZ all posted positive gains alongside Macquarie’s outperformance. Only Bendigo and Bank of Queensland recorded contractions.

July’s results highlight that expansion was market-wide rather than concentrated. Incremental increases at the largest banks combined with Macquarie’s sharp gain pushed the aggregate higher. Regional lenders continue to lag, with BOQ the most exposed.

“Growth was widespread rather than concentrated. When eight out of ten lenders expand in the same month, it tells you the engine is running across the market, not just in one franchise,” said Michael Johnson, Director at Agile Market Intelligence.

Commonwealth Bank maintains steady dominance

• Commonwealth Bank’s housing loan book now totals $595.8 billion. Monthly increases consistently ranged between 0.22% and 0.50%.
  
  
• Variance peaked at $2.77 billion in one month. Growth has been stable across the 12-month period. The bank remains the clear leader in market share.

CBA’s growth trajectory reflects a deliberate strategy of consistent expansion rather than rapid shifts. While not the fastest-growing lender, its scale allows it to extend its lead over rivals.

“CBA’s approach shows the power of scale in mortgage lending. Even modest percentage increases translate into billions in new loans, reinforcing its dominant market position,” said Michael Johnson.

Macquarie emerges as the growth outlier

• Macquarie’s housing loan book reached $147.7 billion. It achieved monthly growth rates as high as 2.22%. The bank added up to $3.21 billion in a single month.
  
  
• Growth outpaced all other lenders on both a percentage and dollar basis relative to size. Expansion has been accelerating over the past six months.

Macquarie is a clear challenger to the big four, with its aggressive growth strategy rapidly increasing its housing loan market share. Sustaining this pace could reshape competitive dynamics in the medium term.

“Macquarie’s surge highlights how challengers can disrupt incumbents through consistent outperformance. Their growth momentum is outstripping peers and will be closely watched by the major banks,” said Michael Johnson.

About the research

Figures in this article were drawn by Agile Market Intelligence from APRA’s Monthly Authorised Deposit-taking Institution Statistics to July 2025. The dataset covers total housing loans segmented into owner-occupied and investment housing loans across the ten largest lenders by mortgage loan book size.

Agile Market Intelligence also conducts Broker Pulse, a monthly survey of residential mortgage lenders. Broker Pulse provides transparency to the market by surfacing collective insights from the broker community, enabling brokers to make informed decisions and helping lenders benchmark and improve performance.