Broker numbers tipped to fall - Jun 2016

“I think that the number of mortgage brokers in Australia will probably decline – from the MFAA numbers of 12, 13 or 14,000 people – and it might only reshape itself a little bit,” he told The Adviser following Aussie’s number one ranking in the recent Top 25 Brokerages report.

The amount of business available to the remaining 10,000-odd brokers however, will be “much higher”.

In the UK, regulatory reform has resulted in broker numbers dwindling from an estimated 30,000 in 2007 to some 12,000 today. However, broker market share has risen from 50 per cent in 2013 to 70 per cent today.

British brokers, known as intermediaries, have had to upskill and offer additional services and diversify into insurance and advice.

Comparing the situation with Australia, Mr Symond said the mortgage broking industry here is being professionalised and the role of the part-time loan writer is no longer viable.

“You can no longer be a butcher, baker or a candlestick maker and then just say ‘I’m going to be a mortgage broker on the side’. That’s changed,” he said.

“Those days are long gone with the education, with the training, with the professionalism that this industry has gone through. These people are being weeded out and we’ll end up with a stronger industry than ever before.”

Mr Symond said there has never been a better time to be a mortgage broker, adding that Aussie is proud of its recent achievements in the third-party space.

Aussie recently topped the Top 25 Brokerages report, with 960 brokers (up from 889 last year), total loan volumes for FY15 of $16,810,921,000 (up from $14,638,128,000) and a loan book totalling $59,278,601,000 (up from $54,914,749,000 for FY14).

[Related: Looming changes create new opportunities for brokers]