Despite the drop in new applications, NAB’s existing mortgage book continued to grow, rising 2 per cent to $115 billion over the quarter and 6 per cent over the year. The housing retreat contrasted with continued growth in business borrowing, with NAB’s Business and Private Banking lending balances rising 4 per cent, or about $6b, to $180b. That put the business lending book 10 per cent above its level a year earlier and delivered NAB’s strongest June month since the 2022 financial year. However, signs of strain are emerging beneath the lending growth. NAB said these troubled loans continued to increase among construction and transport and storage borrowers exposed to the fallout from the Middle East conflict.