A non-major lender has announced that it is implementing changes to its broker commission payment model, including changes to trail and the adoption of CIF recommendations, effective from 1 July.
Bankwest has said that it is bringing in the changes to “align itself with evolving industry practice and regulator expectations”.
The changes, which will be effective on settlements from 1 July 2018, include:
There will be no changes to the upfront commission rate.
| Current commission rate | New rate from 1 July 2018 | |
| Upfront | 0.70% | 0.70% |
| Year 1 | 0% | 0.15% |
| Year 2 | 0.15% | 0.15% |
| Year 3 | 0.20% | 0.15% |
| Year 4 | 0.20% | 0.20% |
| Year 5 onwards | 0.25% | 0.20% |
Commenting on the industry recommendations, Bankwest general manager for third party Ian Rakhit said: “Bankwest has been a very long-standing supporter of the broker industry, going back to the very start some four decades ago, and we remain committed to brokers as a channel of choice for customers.”
He added: “We support the current upfront and trail model as well as the improvements to the model outlined in the ASIC review and the Combined Industry Forum (CIF) recommendations.
“We understand the lack of Year 1 trail has been outstanding for some time and we are pleased to reintroduce this to bring us back in line with the market.
“Our contract stipulates that trail commissions represent payment for continuous customer maintenance and services, and we believe trail remains warranted for brokers to ensure ongoing support is provided to customers they refer to Bankwest.”
The bank is the first lender to make major moves to change broker remuneration following the ASIC remuneration review, Combined Industry Forum package reforms and the ongoing commissions.
The Adviser has asked Bankwest's parent company, CBA, if similar changes will be made by the major bank but has not yet received a response.
[Related: NAB backs remuneration structure but calls for ‘improvements’]
Annie Kane is the editor of The Adviser magazine, Australia’s leading magazine for mortgage brokers. As well as writing news and features on the Australian mortgage market, financial regulation, fintechs and the wider lending market – Annie is also the host of the Elite Broker podcast and regulator contributor to the Mortgage Business Uncut podcast.
Before joining The Adviser team at Momentum Media in 2016, Annie wrote for a range of business and consumer titles, including The Guardian (Australia), BBC Music Magazine, Elle (Australia), BBC Countryfile, BBC Homes & Antiques, and Resource magazine.
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