Move from banking giant comes amid a regulatory crackdown on high-risk lending
ANZ is the latest banking giant to announce new restrictions in how it lends mortgages to trusts and companies.
New policy requirements implemented on 8 January mean existing ANZ customers must satisfy strict criteria, specifically:
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Must be one of the directors of the borrowing entity with a 25% or greater ownership
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Must provide a personal guarantee
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Must have a satisfactory account history
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Must have held an open ANZ lending product (either personal or business account) for at least six months, or and ANZ term deposit, transaction or saving account (either personal or business account) for at least 12 months
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A 70% loan-to-value ratio has also been implemented
The new rules were outlined in an email sent to brokers. Inflight applications submitted prior to 8 January will still be assessed on the old policy.
ANZ’s move follows similar moves from other major banks in late 2025.
The practice of lending to trusts and companies can allow borrowers to circumnavigate assessment and serviceability requirements, allowing them to take out larger loans that they can potentially afford.
In October, Australia’s fifth-largest bank Macquarie prohibited lending to trusts and companies in its entirety, citing concerns that the practice has been adopted by social media “property spruikers” to skirt serviceability requirements.
Macquarie also referenced incoming anti-money laundering regulations, “which will require additional verification steps for trust and company loans, making the origination process more complex and time-consuming for banks, brokers, and customers”.
Commonwealth Bank followed suit in November with a number of restrictions, including limiting trust and company lending to customers with an existing home loan, business loan, personal loan or credit card of six months or more.
These developments come amid a regulatory clampdown in high-risk lending, after the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) announced in November that it will limit high debt-to-income (DTI) home lending to contain what it sees as a build up of vulnerabilities in the financial system.
“One of the key structural risks to system stability that APRA has long been concerned about is high household indebtedness. Rising indebtedness has in the past often been associated with an increase in riskier lending and rapid growth in property prices,’ APRA chair John Lonsdale said at the time.
