BDM satisfaction score hits new milestone

For the first time since the Broker Pulse surveys began, BDMs achieved a score of over 60 from brokers in March, the highest on record.

Analysis of the latest monthly Broker Pulse survey from Momentum Intelligence revealed that lender business development managers (BDM) achieved a score of +61 from brokers in March 2023.

The survey of 250 brokers conducted between 1 and 18 April 2023 also showed that this was four points higher than the +57 points in February.

Brokers were asked to provide comments on their experiences with lenders including their BDMs.

Many brokers commended the BDMs for their services and providing “excellent” and timely support.

According to the data, Bankwest replaced ME Bank and claimed top spot in March, with 97 per cent of broker respondents rating their experience with the BDMs as positive.

AMP Bank jumped from 10^th to second position in March, with its positive rating surging from 70 per cent in February to 92 per cent in March.

Ninety-one per cent of brokers reported having a positive experience with Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) BDMs, 10 percentage points higher than February. As a result, the major bank climbed from seventh to third rank in March.

Three less commonly used authorised deposit-taking institutions [ADI] (used by less than 20 per cent of broker respondents) scored a 100 per cent positive rating for their BDMs, including BCU, Citibank, and Newcastle Permanent.

In the most commonly used non-bank segment, brokers gave a 100 per cent positive rating to AFG Home Loans and Connective Home Loans BDMs.

Conversely, credit assessor scores dropped to +46, the lowest score since September 2022, when it was +43.

While many brokers commented that their experience with credit assessors were positive, others disagreed, with some calling for more training to be provided to credit assessors.

Indeed, one broker said “assessors are pedantic and hit and miss”, while another remarked that some of the credit assessors are not very experienced and said “my feeling is they rather decline the deals to make their lives easier”.

Analysis of the performance of individual lenders revealed that Macquarie Bank retained the top spot, with 92 per cent of brokers reporting that they had a positive experience with its credit assessors.

Bankwest ascended from fifth to second position in March, while its positive rating for credit assessors rose slightly to 87 per cent.

While CBA’s positive rating dipped from 87 per cent to 85 per cent, it climbed from fourth to third spot in March.

Satisfaction with credit assessors at St.George Banking Group plunged in March, with only 28 per cent giving them a positive rating, down from 40 per cent in February.

The lender remained in last spot in the most commonly used ADI segment in March.

In the less commonly used ADI segment, UBank (formerly 86 400) finished first with a 90 per cent positive rating from brokers, while MyState ranked second with 85 per cent.

Credit assessors at AFG Home Loans and Connective Home Loans matched the performance of BDMs, and received a 100 per cent positive rating from brokers.

Momentum Intelligence director Michael Johnson said: “BDMs are at the coal face each day and they often are the first port of call for brokers when the assessors are more challenging to contact.”

“Our Broker Pulse community has been recognising the solid work that BDMs are doing and, clearly, this month highlights a new high for broker satisfaction with BDMs.”

‍