The purpose of this study is to estimate the amount mortgages for owner-occupiers contributed to the profits of the big four banks in Australia: ANZ Bank, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the National Australia Bank and Westpac Banking Corporation. An analysis of the data suggests big banks profit disproportionately from housing loans to owner occupiers.

Australians hold some of the highest levels of mortgage debt in the world. This paper examines what is widely considered to be one of the strongest channels of monetary policy transmission into household spending – the effect of changes in mortgage payments when mortgage rates are linked to the short-term policy rate.

The paper presents data on six measures of living standards: mortgage stress, disposable income, the number of Australians with more than one job, household price levels, tax burden and debt burden. It finds that price level rises in various household goods and services all exceeded wages growth between 2022 and 2024.

An examination of the profitability of Australian banks, focusing on profits generated from owner-occupier home loans. The report finds that Australian banks are highly profitable, extracting significant profits from home loans in particular. The report argues that this disproportionately burdens homebuyers, who represent a small proportion of banks' overall business.

This second interim report explores policy options for harnessing superannuation to assist homeowners during the repayment stage, with particular focus on mortgage offset.