Suncorp home lending lodgements up 21%

Suncorp Group (ASX: SUN) opened relatively flat this morning (up -0.44%) after the Qld-based financial services conglomerate’s March quarter update revealed $803m of growth (or 1.7%) within the banking division’s home lending portfolio.

Beyond banking, Suncorp’s core businesses are in insurance and wealth.

Driven by consistent competitive offerings and improved turnaround times, today’s update also revealed that home lending lodgements were up 21% on the previous quarter.

Growth momentum

Commenting on today’s update, CEO of Suncorp Bank Clive van Horen notes the result reflects continued delivery of a targeted program of work to improve customer and broker experiences.

"Turnaround times have been consistently competitive over the quarter, reflecting improved back-end processes to support the higher lodgement volumes,” van Horen noted.

“Growth momentum also extended to the business lending portfolio which grew $91m during the March quarter and over $130m in April.”

Recent flooding

At 30 April, 111 customers were receiving hardship assistance following the recent flooding across Queensland and New South Wales. Flood-impacted customer assistance included deferred or reduced payments, conversion of loan to interest only or concessional interest rates.

As at 28 February 2022, Suncorp had received more than 5,000 claims across both states, with approximately half lodged online.

Of the total claims received to date, around 70% are in south-east Queensland and around 30% in NSW. Over 80% of total claims relate to home damage.

In a recent update on the heavy rainfall and flooding across south-east Qld and northern NSW, Suncorp group CEO Steve Johnston said:

“Right now, safety is the number one priority as we continue to face significant and dangerous weather conditions. Many roads, homes and businesses remain flooded so we must wait until it is safe to evaluate the impact.”

Consensus on Suncorp is Moderate buy.

Based on Morningstar’s fair value of $12.77, the stock appears to be undervalued.

Suncorp share price over six months.