Quick Summary
Founded
1959
Owned by:
Funded by:
Retail deposits and wholesale capital markets
LMI Provider:
Genworth and QBE
Lender type:
Banks, Mutual Bank, Customer Owned
Qudos Bank is a customer-owned mutual bank formerly known as Qantas Credit Union.
They offer low-cost home loans with competitive interest rates, often beating the rates offered by the big four.
As a customer-owned bank, “they exist to serve their members and not simply to drive high profits for external shareholders.”
Qudos Mutual Ltd trading as Qudos Bank is headquartered in Sydney with six of their nine branches located in Sydney.
How do Qudos Bank’s home loans compare?
Pros
- Highly competitive interest rates for borrowers with a large deposit (10% or more)
- Low-cost/ no-frills basic variable rate home loans with no fees
- First home buyer loans
- Hobby farms (large land sizes with a house)
- Debt consolidation home loans (no limit on the number of debts being consolidated)
- Bridging loans as servicing on end debt only
- Flexible genuine savings policies for first home buyers (private rent paid acceptable as genuine savings verified through 6 months’ bank statements)
- They cover up to $300.00 towards valuation costs as standard policy (up to $600 for loans upward of $1 million)
- Reliable pre-approvals because of a full assessment
- Borrowed deposit accepted as long it meets servicing
- Common debt reducer
- Foreign currency income
Cons
- They have limited branch access
- They don’t offer low deposit home loans
- They don't offer expat home loans
- They don’t do bad credit home loans
- Their maximum loan to value ratio (LVR) for investment loans is capped at 90%
- They cannot process first home owners grant (FHOG) as funds to complete
- Stricter living expenses assessment
What type of home loans do Qudos Bank have?
Qudos bank offers a few flexible home loans, namely:
- No frills home loan: This basic loan is only available for owner-occupiers on a principal and interest repayment and features a low variable rate, no banks fees and unlimited extra repayments. Ideal for first home buyers.
- Low-cost home loan: It features a 100% offset account and redraw facilities with no upfront or bank fees. It is their most popular product available for both owner-occupiers and investors.
- Low-cost home loan (Value package): A fully-packaged discounted home loan with additional benefits such as insurance discounts and complimentary financial planning meeting. A $395 annual fee applies.
- Qantas points home loan: Similar to their low-cost home loan, it comes with the ability to earn Qantas Points (frequent-flyer-program) albeit at a slightly higher rate on your home loan.
- Fixed-rate home loan: It features no bank fees and rate lock; however, extra repayments are limited to $10,000 annually.
- Home access loan: Equity access loans with an initial low establishment fee but no recurring fees and comes equipped with a redraw facility.
Is Qudos Bank government guaranteed?
Qudos Bank is an authorised deposit-taking institution (ADI) regulated by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA), that means it is a part of the Financial Claims Scheme (FCS).
Under the scheme, certain deposits are protected/ guaranteed up to a limit of $250,000 for each account holder.
All Qudos Bank customers who have a transaction account with them may be entitled to payment under the scheme.
What makes Qudos bank different from other lenders?
- Qudos Bank offers low-cost competitive interest rate home loans beating the big four banks on a range of home loans. To prove it, they even publish ‘a competitive weekly report’ on their website.
- Their profits often go back to their members in the form of better rates and fairer fees.
- As a member of the Customer Owned Banking Association (COBA) which exists to service their members, not simply to drive high profits for shareholders. They’re a signee to the customer-owned banking code of practice.
Qudos Bank Client Story
Jim, Victoria
Goal
Jim was looking to put his foot into the property market by purchasing his first investment property in VIC.
The purchase price of the property was $850,000, and he was looking to borrow 90% of the property value inclusive of Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI).
Situation
He was working as a Pilot contracted through a US company and was paid in USD.
The problem is that most lenders will only consider 80% of the income earned in a foreign currency, and this lead to the loan not servicing.
Solution
As stipulated in his contract, his employer didn’t withhold his tax so he lodged his own tax returns at the end of every financial year (FY) in Australia. It meant he was an AU resident for tax purposes.
After going through his lender options, Qudos Bank was a suitable match as they take 100% of foreign income for Australians with an AU resident tax status.
Moreover, Quodos’ low-cost variable rate home loans had all the features that met Jim’s objectives and purpose.
Jim got approved for the full loan amount and bought his first investment property.
Find out if you are qualified to apply with this lender
Read More StoriesTips for applying with Qudos bank?
- You can apply for a home loan with Qudos Bank by either visiting one of their 9 branches or calling to arrange an appointment over the phone. You can fill out the forms either online or on paper.
- Use Qudos Bank’s Minimum Home Loan Application Checklist to prepare for your home loan application.
- Note: This is the latest home loan checklist as of September 2019. Please refer to Qudos Banks’ website for their most up-to-date document requirements.