Bendigo Bank opens up to broker

While Adelaide Bank has traditionally been the brand under which brokers have distributed loans, Bendigo Bank today turned on third-party channel distribution as part of its ongoing “transformation journey”.

It is expected that the Adelaide Bank brand will be mothballed as the Bendigo Bank Broker offering progresses, with the Adelaide Bank brand transitioning to retirement from late 2024, with brokers no longer being able to sell Adelaide Bank home loan products.

However, the bank will continue to service Adelaide Bank customers as it transitions to Bendigo Bank.

The 3,000 brokers aggregating under Finsure will be able to access Bendigo Bank products from today, with more aggregator partnerships coming online in 2024.

The bank is gradually rolling out new accreditations to Finsure brokers, with WA, SA, NT and ACT having already launched and VIC and QLD expected to be completed early next week, followed by NSW. The bank has said it aims to have all Finsure brokers accredited by mid-December.

Brokers will have a new dedicated website, lending platform, and continued access to Bendigo and Adelaide BDMs. The banking group has selected Salesforce Financial Services Cloud to power the brand’s first CRM system.

There will be two new Bendigo Bank product suites available to broker customers. These are:

1. Flex (Premium): Available with up to six offset accounts for customers who want flexibility to pay down their loans sooner.
2. Easy: A simple, no-frills home loan.

Speaking of the move, Richard Fennell, the chief customer officer at Bendigo and Adelaide Bank, noted that around 70 per cent of mortgages are written through the broker channel and highlighted that by opening up Bendigo Bank products to the broker channel, it will be able to bring in new customers and drive growth.

He said: “This is a really important strategic initiative to allow us to leverage the Bendigo Bank brand through the broker channel and take advantage of the investments we continue to make into our brand and our reputation as Australia’s most trusted bank.

“To become Australia’s bank of choice we need to continue to consolidate and simplify our current processes and reduce complexity to allow us to better serve our customers and meet their banking needs.”

As well as opening up to broker, the bank has been transforming its core banking platform in recent years, including a new lending platform with “enhanced automation and digital capability that will see much faster and consistent credit decisioning”.

Mr Fennell said the bank is focusing on a “digital by design, human when it matters” approach to the broker lending experience and “giving brokers a far richer experience”.

New Bendigo Broker customers will also get more choices with “a new simple and flexible home loan offering” and will have the opportunity to access “the full range of value-adding Bendigo Bank products, services, and support, with seamless onboarding experience and improved e-banking facilities,” he said.

The general manager of third-party banking Darren Kasehagen added: “We will be working hard behind the scenes to make sure the broker and customer experience is a smooth one.

“Our dedicated processing team will closely monitor each loan application, to make sure processes and technology capability are meeting expectations resulting in a quicker time to decision for the customer.

“By the middle of next year, we expect to be satisfied with the lending capability performance and will commence roll-out to our remaining aggregators and their brokers Australia-wide with completion anticipated during calendar year 2024.”

The chief executive of Finsure, Simon Bednar, said the company was excited to be the first aggregator partner to be involved in Bendigo Bank’s new offering.

“Finsure has evolved into one of Australia’s largest mortgage broking groups and our business ethos is to provide the strongest value proposition to all our broker partners,” Mr Bednar said.

“This objective aligns perfectly with what Bendigo Bank is doing to consolidate and simplify their current process and reduce complexity for both brokers and their customers.

“With our objectives aligned, together we can shape a better future for the industry and deliver results that benefit everyone.”

Bendigo and Adelaide Bank broker market share grows

The move came as Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited’s broker flows grow.

According to the group’s financial results for the year ended June 2023 (FY23),third-party banking lending increased to 53 per cent of the non-major’s residential lending in the 2023 financial year, an increase on last year.

Third-party banking lending particularly rose over the second half of FY23, rising from 59 per cent to 66 per cent, as the flow grew from $6.7 billion in the first half of FY23 to $7.0 billion.

[Related: Bendigo and Adelaide Bank reveals increase in resi third-party lending]