Australia's top major lender revealed

Notably, for the first time, very little separated the lenders, with just over one point between the top three.

Homeside emerged with the title of Australia’s number one major lender, followed by the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ANZ.

Homeside placed first in 10 of the 17 categories, including product pricing, broker communication, training and education, business support and commission structure – giving the lender an overall broker satisfaction rating of 62.54 out of a possible 85.

CBA placed a very close second, recording a broker satisfaction rating of 62.26, after placing first in seven of the 17 categories and improving their rating in every category from last years ranking.

This is the closest ranking The Adviser has seen since launching the Third Party Banking Report - Major Lenders in 2010.

ANZ was not far behind the top two banks scoring 59.28, proving consistency is key to broker satisfaction while Westpac remains firmly in last place for the fourth consecutive year with just 50.64.

In analysing the results of the ranking, The Adviser’s publisher Jim Hall said this year’s Third Party Banking Report - Major Lenders not only shows the strength of the leading big banks, but their desire to compete via the broker channel.

“It is clear that there is significant competition amongst the leading banks as they look to capitalise on the opportunities presented by an influential third party distribution channel.

"The top three majors performed very well in this year’s ranking, suggesting they are hitting the mark with Australia’s brokers,” he said.

For full details of the rankings, check out issue 7.5 of The Adviser magazine, hitting desks soon.