Are loan books next on the block for Australia?

Australia, like everyone else, has experienced a seismic shock to its financial system and economy arising out of the Black Swan of COVID-19.

And this time it is different, for an Australia which did not suffer in the same way as many other advanced economies arising out of the Great Recession. Then, it benefited from the resources super-cycle which cauterised much of the losses which Australia's financial institutions might otherwise have experienced. It is true that many Australian financial institutions still suffered, had to repair their balance sheets by forced merger or divestment of some impaired loan books (like Suncorp or Bankwest), or had to exit the market winding down their loan books for reasons to do with their parent's circumstances back in their home jurisdictions (like RBS and HBOS). But overall most survived relatively unscathed and have continued to fill out their loan books with commercial, mortgage and consumer debt.