Bank of us reports strong home loan growth and increasing customer numbers

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Strong home loan growth and increasing customer numbers were among the 2021-22 positives for Bank of us.

Despite those factors and a record year for new loans, after tax profit fell from $6.1 million to $5.1 million.

Bank of us said its key results for the year included active customers increasing (from 31,800) to 32,623, "with a trend of attracting a younger target demographic".

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It said the $363 million in new loans beat the previous record by 10 per cent.

"These excellent outcomes reflect the strong performance of the Tasmanian economy relative to other states in Australia," chief executive Paul Ranson and chairman Scott Newton said in the annual report.

"They also speak to our high-performance culture, which enabled us to find opportunities to write another record in loans despite navigating resourcing challenges to ensure our retail stores could continue to open."

The home loan book grew by 11 per cent to $1.11 billion.

Mr Ranson described it as "another strong year of excellent outcomes".

"Last year we went from one win to another, with fantastic financial performance results, a brand refresh and being appointed as the exclusive lender for the Tasmanian government's revamped home ownership program, MyHome," Mr Ranson said on Tuesday, following the bank's annual meeting in Launceston on Monday.

Plans for the current financial year included a new and improved mobile app for customers and what the bank described as "an enhanced customer on-boarding experience".

"On-boarding" is corporate speak for giving people necessary information.

It often refers to induction activities for new employees.

Mr Ranson and Mr Newton said housing finance demand in Tasmania softened by 4.8 per cent during the year, due to rising interest rates and the winding back of government incentives for first home buyers.

"Pleasingly, we were able to grow market share during the year, supported by two excellent marketing campaigns," they said.

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"As interest rates are predicted to increase to a long-run average over the next 12 months to combat rising inflation, we expect to see a further softening in housing finance demand in financial year 2023.

"The extent to which rising rates will impact property prices is unknown, noting that, historically, Tasmania hasn't seen significant declines in property values during slower economic growth.

"While unemployment is at an all-time low, we've been through an unprecedented period of price growth, so that may see a different outcome in the short to medium term."

They said the bank aimed to continue to build market share in Tasmania.

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