Non-banks most committed to broker channel, say brokers

The annual Third-Party Lending Survey – led by Agile Market Intelligence and its lending insights division Broker Pulse – is a comprehensive annual study that asks Australian brokers to assess the performance of lenders they have worked with over the past 12 months.

The survey asks brokers to assess lender performance across 17 attributes that cover the lender’s entire offering to the third-party channel. These include products, turnaround times, channel conflict, service, technology, communication, education, service, and support, among others.

Last year, over 1,000 brokers responded to the survey, providing lenders with a sizeable sample size to gauge their performance in the third-party distribution channel.

Who is the most committed to brokers?

Interim results of the 2024 survey – which is open until Friday, 3 May 2024 – have revealed that brokers believe the non-banks to be the most committed to the broker channel (an attribute that falls under the support category).

Indeed, 82 per cent of broker respondents said they were satisfied with the non-banks in this attribute, while non-major banks were a close second at 80 per cent.

However, the major banks lagged behind non-banks by 12 percentage points, with only 70 per cent of brokers saying the big four banks were committed to the third-party distribution channel.

Overall, brokers reported that both non-major banks and non-banks provided the most optimal support (77 per cent), while major banks lagged behind at 72 per cent. This may be partly due to the fact that the non-banks are generally solely reliant on brokers to distribute their loan products, having no branch presence.

Conversely, the strong branch network and proprietary channel preference of some of the major banks have led some brokers to feel that this segment of the market is less committed to brokers.

On the other hand, brokers were most satisfied with the major banks when it came to broker communication and training (76 per cent), ahead of the non-major banks (74 per cent), and the non-bank lenders (72 per cent).

Satisfaction rates with products

When asked about their experience with mortgage products, 78 per cent of brokers said they were delighted with the offerings at the non-major banks.

The other lender segments were close behind, with 76 per cent and 74 per cent of brokers satisfied with the major banks and non-banks, respectively.

Brokers were most pleased with the product range available at the non-major banks, with an 80 per cent satisfaction rate, closely followed by product pricing at 78 per cent.

The major banks came out on top for their product policy, however, with 81 per cent of brokers expressing satisfaction.

The non-major banks ranked last in this attribute (76 per cent) behind non-bank lenders (77 per cent).

The Third-Party Lending Survey is an avenue for brokers to provide detailed feedback about (and to) the lenders they have submitted mortgage applications with over the past year.

The results of the survey are used to compile the Third-Party Lending Report, a diagnostic tool that identifies service quality trends, provides broker satisfaction ratings, and highlights expectation shortfalls.

The report aims to help lenders understand their strengths and weaknesses and use the feedback to improve their offerings to brokers.

Brokers responding to the Third-Party Lending Report 2024 will be able to enter into a prize draw for an opportunity to win a share of $10,000 in prizes as a thank you for taking part in this important industry initiative.

The key findings of the Third-Party Lending Report will be published in The Adviser magazine later this year.

Click here to complete the 2024 Third-Party Lending Survey by Friday, 3 May 2024.

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