Connective achieves record settlements

According to the group, the figure was nearly 20 per cent up year-on-year.

The chief executive officer of Connective, Glenn Lees, revealed that the group saw nearly 30 per cent growth in the value of settlements over 2020, with a total value of $57.1 billion (compared with $45 billion in 2019).

This equated to an average growth of $1 billion per month over the year. 

Mr Lees suggested that changing dynamics in supply and demand in the property market, continuing record-low interest rates, and the “growing strength of broker-customer relationships” had driven an increase in mortgage applications across the country.

However, he added: “There are many factors at play here, but it primarily indicates just how hard our brokers worked in 2020, as they adapted to new ways of working, strengthened relationships and embraced technology.”

He added that Connective’s most recent figures also show strong growth in applications in January and February 2021, with applications up 27 per cent year-on-year in January. As such, he suggested that 2021 would continue the trend of strong applications and settlements.

Mr Lees continued: “We’re seeing record growth from members off the back of probably the most volatile and uncertain year we’ve ever lived through... These figures are further evidence of the adaptability, tenacity and importance of the mortgage broking industry.

“This is especially so given the ever-increasing complexity facing borrowers that brokers are uniquely suited to manage.

“But perhaps more importantly, these figures indicate opportunity for brokers to make 2021 a record-breaking year for them,” the Connective CEO added.

Mr Lees highlighted that brokers were also able to work more productively by harnessing digital technology in their processes.

He said: “The digital transformation of the broking industry was accelerated in 2020. Brokers adopted more  technology and new ways of working quickly.”

The Connective CEO highlighted that the aggregator’s software platform, Mercury Nexus, was helping supporting brokers in connecting digitally with their clients.

“We’re now seeing over 5,000 borrowers each week using the Client Centre to share information, documents and updates with their brokers,” he said, adding that the platform’s workflow and reporting tools were also helping brokers make “meeting their best interests duty obligation an easy and integral part of their daily operations”. 

“The Mercury Nexus platform is proving to be a real game changer for our members, not only assisting them in meeting their BID obligations, but enabling them to easily document and demonstrate that they have met these obligations as part of their ‘business as usual’ processes,” he concluded.

Connective’s record figures echo similar milestones reported by other aggregation and brokerage groups.

Finsure and PLAN Australia recently revealed record settlement figures, while Mortgage Choice brokers settled their second-highest figures in 1H21 and Aussie recently stated that settlement volumes rose by 11 per cent to $17.7 billion for the 2020 calendar year.

The figures come as Australia experiences record levels of mortgage applications and refinances.

Owner-occupier home loan commitments have also been hitting new highs, as federal and state government measures such as the HomeBuilder grant and First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, as well as record-low interest rates, are supporting ongoing growth in housing loan commitments.

[Related: 2020 closed with new record mortgage activity]