THE Reserve Bank says the global financial crisis did not stop the flow of credit to consumers looking to buy houses, although the costs of funding those loans increased and lending standards were tightened.
RBA assistant governor of financial markets Guy Debelle said the GFC had a “material impact in pricing and structure” in the Australian mortgage market, but it did not have a material impact on the quality of housing credit provided.
“Housing finance has been readily available throughout the crisis period, with housing credit growing at about 8 per cent a year,” Dr Debelle said in prepared remarks to the Mortgage Innovation Forum in Sydney on Tuesday.
“The larger banks have filled the gap left by the decline of the wholesale lenders, so that there has not been a material constraint on the quantity of housing credit available in Australia throughout the crisis.”