Major bank scraps all SMSF loans
Westpac confirmed it is scrapping all SMSF loans, after announcing last week its subsidiary St George would exit the market.
In an online update, Westpac has announced that effective 31 July 2018 its SMSF Investment Property Loan will be removed from sale.
Business lending to an SMSF for residential and commercial securities will also no longer be permitted, Westpac stated.
Westpac confirmed it will continue to service its customers with existing SMSF loans as allowable under the credit policy including split loans, switching loan products and extending loan maturity.
Effective Tuesday 31 July 2018, the bank said it will no longer permit switching from principal & interest to interest only and extending an interest only term.
Westpac also stated that under an internal pipeline policy, credit approval of in-flight deals as at Tuesday 31 July 2018 will be allowed up to Tuesday 30 October 2018 where signed customer application forms are held and dated prior to Tuesday 31 July 2018 and customer sales conversation has been recorded in internal systems prior to Tuesday 31 July 2018.
This latest move follows the announcement by its subsidiary St.George last week that it too will be withdrawing from sale its SMSF Home Loan product and Business Lending to SMSFs, effective Tuesday 31 July 2018.
Miranda Brownlee
Miranda Brownlee is the deputy editor of SMSF Adviser, which is the leading source of news, strategy and educational content for professionals working in the SMSF sector.
Since joining the team in 2014, Miranda has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest superannuation stories in Australia, and has reported extensively on technical strategy and legislative updates.
Miranda also has broad business and financial services reporting experience, having written for titles including Investor Daily, ifa and Accountants Daily.