It is a mutual bank, meaning it is owned by its members and not run for the profit of shareholders. It has over 50 branches in various parts of the country, mainly in NSW.
Greater Bank has home loans available for borrowers with deposits under 20%. If you have a family member who owns a property, they can guarantee your loan and you can borrow even more.
Here are the key features and details you need to know about Greater Bank's mortgage products.
Feature
Details
Minimum deposit
Some Greater Bank loans have 80% maximum LVRs, meaning you need a 20% deposit. But Greater Bank has some loans that let borrowers use a parental guarantor to borrow above 100%. Other Greater Bank home loans are available with 10% deposits.
The following information is general in nature and applies to most home loans. There may be specific criteria that apply for this lender.
Age. You must be over 18 years of age.
Residency. You should be a resident of Australia.
Employment. You should have a regular source of income.
Documents required
When you apply for a mortgage with Greater Bank you are required to provide certain information so make sure you have all your documents ready before you apply. The documents you will be expected to provide are:
📄 Property details. You can start a loan enquiry before you've bought a property. But to complete an application you need the address of the property and a signed contract of sale.
📄 Identification documents. You will need identification such as a driver's licence, passport or birth certificate.
📄 Proof of income documents. Recent payslips can establish your income.
📄 Asset and liability documents. You need to provide documents showing your current assets (savings accounts, investments) and liabilities (your outstanding debt).
To make sure you find the right Greater Bank loan you need a clear idea of what you're looking for in a mortgage. These simple questions can help:
Do you need local branch support? Greater Bank has bank branches but if you don't live near one you'll have to apply online.
What do you need the loan for? If you're buying a home to live in you need an owner-occupier loan. Property investors need an investment loan. Greater Bank has both.
Fixed or variable? Do you want the flexibility of a variable rate loan that could rise or fall at any time? Or are you happy to lock in a fixed rate for a certain period so you can forget about rate changes entirely?
What features do you need? You have to decide whether you need features like a 100% offset account, the ability to make extra repayments and the option to split your rate.
Home loan pre-approval is an optional step in the application process that some lenders offer. Pre-approval means a lender has examined your savings, income and spending habits and has a rough idea of how much it could lend you. It's not the same as full loan approval and it's no guarantee that the lender will ultimately approve a full application. But it does allow borrowers to start looking for a home with more confidence and a clearer idea of their borrowing power.
Pre-approval is not something every lender offers, but many do.
Most Australian borrowers bank with one of the Big Four banks (Commbank, ANZ, Westpac and NAB). You might have some concerns about getting a loan from a smaller lender you've never heard of. But there's no reason to worry just because you've never heard of a lender before.
In Australia, banks and lenders are regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and must comply with the National Consumer Credit Protection Act.
Greater Bank is considered an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI). This means customers with money deposited in a Greater Bank savings account benefit from the deposit guarantee scheme. This federal government scheme guarantees a customer's savings up to $250,000.
Deciding between a fixed or variable rate depends on what you want from the loan. A variable rate loan can change at any time, either up or down. A variable rate usually offers more flexibility in how fast you can repay the loan and the cost of refinancing.
A fixed rate loan offers total certainty about your rate, for the fixed period. This means it won't rise, costing you more. But if your lender starts lowering rates you won't benefit either. Refinancing a fixed rate loan means breaking the loan, because you've agreed to a specific rate. This means you may have to pay a fixed rate break fee.
Mortgage brokers are home loan professionals who can help you find a suitable loan. A broker typically charges you no fee, because they receive a commission from your lender. Brokers are great if you are short on time or find the whole process of researching and applying for a home loan confusing. But you can definitely do it yourself and find a good loan. You may even find a better deal. That's because brokers don't compare loans from every lender in the market. They have access to a panel of loans and often don't have smaller online lenders in their panel.
Sources
What is Finder Score?
The Finder Score crunches 7,000 home loans across 120+ lenders. It takes into account the product's interest rate, fees and features, as well as the type of loan eg investor, variable, fixed rate - this gives you a simple score out of 10.
To provide a Score, we compare like-for-like loans. So if you're comparing the best home loans for cashback, you can see how each home loan stacks up against other home loans with the same borrower type, rate type and repayment type. We also take into consideration the amount of cashback offered when calculating the Score so you can tell if it's really worth it.
Richard Whitten is Finder’s Senior Money Editor, with over eight years of experience in home loans, property, credit cards and personal finance. His insights appear in top media outlets like Yahoo Finance, Money Magazine, and the Herald Sun, and he frequently offers expert commentary on television and radio, helping Australians navigate mortgages and property ownership. Richard started his career in education and textbook publishing in South Korea. He holds multiple industry certifications, including a Certificate IV in Mortgage Broking (RG 206) and Tier 1 and Tier 2 certifications (RG 146), as well as a Bachelor of Education from the University of Sydney and a Graduate Certificate in Communications from Deakin University.
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