Pursuits
Westpac Warns of Rise in Consumer Defaults on Mining Slowdown
- Defaults inching up in mining states of Queensland, WA
- Westpac CEO Hartzer says consumer-loan stress levels are low
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Westpac Banking Corp., which increased provisions for soured loans to the highest in six years, said it expects consumer defaults to rise in the six months to Sept. 30 as the mining slowdown leads to job losses in some parts of Australia.
The first signs are already there, with Australia-wide mortgages overdue by more than 90 days climbing to 0.55 percent of total loans by March 31 from 0.45 percent six months earlier, the lender said as it posted first-half earnings that missed estimates.