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Changes to Policy for
Applicants Earning Foreign Income
At Westpac, helping Australians to achieve their goal of owning a home or investment property is core to our purpose.We regularly review our credit policies to ensure we continue to lend responsibly, and have policies that are both aligned to our risk appetite and consistent with the economic and competitive landscape.
For these reasons, Westpac will no longer lend to offshore customers who are not citizens or residents of Australia with an eligible visa.
It continues to be Westpac’s priority to support Australian citizens and Permanent residents (including applicable visa classes) living outside of Australia on their journey to own a home or investment property in Australia. Whilst the revision in policies below will serve as a guideline, it is important that you continue to consult with our Credit Team if you believe a particular application or customer has strong credentials that could be considered as an exception to the policy below.
Effective immediately,Tuesday 26th April, changes to applicants earning foreign incomepolicy will occur, as outlined below:
Translation of foreign income and other supporting documents:
- In the event foreign income and other supporting documents are not in English, the applicant is to provide an English translation prepared by an accredited NAATI translator at their own cost.Translation of documents by either a Westpac Group staff member or a Westpac Group Finance Broker is no longer permitted.
- Applications are to contain both the original and translated documents.
Joint applicants
- Joint loans where one applicant is non-resident are no longer accepted. All applicants must be eligible as per policy requirements regardless of their contribution to the loan.
- Where two or more applicants are involved, the most conservative policy must be applied regardless of their contribution to the loan. For instance an Australian citizen married to a Permanent resident living in Australia earning foreign income will be restricted to 70% LVR and all policies applicable to the permanent resident applicant applies to the application.
Important to consider:
Be aware of any impacts to Approval In Principle applications where returning customers may no longer qualify for loan approval.
Pipeline:
If Approval in Principle has been issued on or before Tuesday, 26/04/16to a maximum of 90 days only (no extension allowed) then:
- Provided no structural* changes to the deal then allowed to proceed to formal approval subject to increased income documentation requirements (includingEnglish translation prepared by an accredited translator at their own cost) as well as additional employer/income verbal verification.
- If any structural* changes to the deal then new policy must be applied.
- New application in the system submitted on or after Tuesday, 26/04/16, then new policy must be applied.
New application in the system submitted prior to Tuesday, 26/04/16 then:
- If application is not formally approved (ie unconditional): allowed to proceed to formal approval subject to increased income documentation requirements (includingEnglish translation prepared by an accredited translator at their own cost) as well as additional employer/income verbal verification;
- If no assessment has been made:new policy must be applied.
*Structural changes defined as:
- Applicants / borrower – deletion or addition
- Employment or income
- Increase in expenses or outgoings or existing loan repayments
- Increase in loan amount
- Increase in liabilities
- Decrease in assets
- Increase in LVR
- Change to repayment or product type (eg principal and interest to interest only repayments; OO to IPL and vice versa)
- New decline or refer decision is received related to a bureau default or bankruptcy
- Securities – deletion or addition
- Does not apply to AIP applications where the purchase property is yet to be identified
For more information:
- Refer to the Applicant via resident type and visa matrix attached
- Refer to attached FAQ’s
For further information, please do not hesitate to contact your Business Development Manager.
Kind Regards,
The Westpac Mortgage Broking Team
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