ONE of the nation's most senior bankers has taken aim at the negative gearing used by millions of property owners, claiming the tax break was leading to an unhealthy focus on housing as a means to get rich, while pushing property prices to unaffordable levels.

ANZ Bank's Australian boss, Phil Chronican, also cast doubt on property as an investment class, saying all the substantial property price gains over the past two decades are unlikely to be repeated and compared with other forms of investment, housing looked ''weak''.

Using houses to get rich is an unhealthy focus ... Phil Chronican. Credit:Nicolas Walker

Negative gearing, which provides billions of dollars of tax breaks, has often been blamed by economists for pushing up property prices.

However, it is highly unusual for a banker to enter into the debate given that investment property often makes up a large portion of their lending book. And given its widespread use it also remains a politically thorny issue.