BDMs, credit assessor approval ratings fall

Satisfaction with lender BDMs declined for the second consecutive month in May while credit assessor scores dropped across eight out of nine non-banks, according to new data.

The latest monthly Broker Pulse survey from Momentum Intelligence – which is based on a survey of 221 brokers conducted between 1-15 June 2022 – has revealed that business development managers (BDM) received an overall score of 54 in May 2022.

This was down from a record high score of 56 in March, and 55 in April.

The score is determined based on broker experiences with lender BDMs and their level of expertise, responsiveness, and communication.

Despite the modest dip in BDM satisfaction over the past couple of months, broker ratings have remained consistently higher than this time last year, when BDMs scored a record low 33 in April 2021 and 37 in May 2021.

Macquarie Bank retains top spot

Among the most commonly used authorised deposit-taking institutions [ADI] (those used by more than 20 per cent of broker respondents), Macquarie Bank claimed top spot for the second consecutive month with the highest positive experience rating from brokers.

Indeed, 93 per cent of brokers said their experiences with their BDMs was positive in May, up from 88 per cent in April and 92 per cent in March.

Among the major banks, Westpac BDM satisfaction ratings jumped from 65 per cent in April to 77 per cent in May, due to which its overall broker experience rating increased to 74 per cent in May (from 64 per cent in April).

Overall experience ratings are calculated as the average percentage of satisfied brokers at each stage of the scenario, application, assessment, and settlement phases.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) tumbled from second position in April to fifth spot in May, with 80 per cent of brokers rating their BDM experiences as positive (down from 86 per cent in April).

National Australia Bank (NAB) BDMs improved their positive ratings from 73 per cent in April to 81 per cent in May to climb from sixth to fourth position, while ANZ declined from eighth to ninth position with a 68 per cent positive rating.

Bankwest dethroned CBA to assume second position despite a lower proportion of brokers rating their BDM experiences as positive (down from 86 per cent in April to 84 per cent in May).

Satisfaction with ME Bank BDMs declined from 63 per cent in April to 56 per cent in May, resulting in weaker overall broker experience ratings (from 76 per cent in March and 65 per cent in April, to 62 per cent in May).

Among the less commonly used ADIs (used by less than 20 per cent of broker respondents), 100 per cent of broker respondents said their experience with Auswide Bank and UBank (formerly 86 400) BDMs were positive.

In the most commonly used non-bank lender segment, only AFG Home Loans’ BDMs received a 100 per cent positive rating.

Satisfaction in most non-bank credit assessors slumps

After scoring a record high of 48 in February 2022, and 47 in March and April, satisfaction with credit assessors fell to 44 in May, according to the Broker Pulse data.

However, it was still 10 points higher than this time last year, when credit assessors scored 34 in May 2021, and a record low 26 in January 2021.

AFG Home Loans received the highest positive rating among non-banks, but only 91 per cent of brokers said their experience was positive, down from 100 per cent in April.

Positive ratings declined across eight out of nine non-banks, with only Resimac BDMs achieving a higher positive rating in May, while six non-banks were given a negative rating, up from four in April.

While no lender across any segment was given a 100 per cent positive rating by brokers, 93 per cent of brokers assigned Macquarie Bank credit assessors a positive score (up from 90 per cent in April), the highest rating among all lender segments.

In the most commonly used ADI segment, Macquarie Bank replaced CBA in the top spot in May, as 92 per cent of brokers rated their experience with the major bank’s credit assessors as positive, down from 93 per cent in April.

After plummeting to second last position in April when less than half all brokers rated their experience as positive, Adelaide Bank recovered significantly and secured third spot in May as 84 per cent of brokers gave it a positive rating.

Among the less commonly used ADIs, Newcastle Permanent retained top spot but failed to repeat its performance in April when it received a perfect score, instead scoring an 83 per cent positive experience rate.

Auswide Bank jumped from third last in April to second spot in May, after 80 per cent of brokers assigned it a positive rating, compared to only 50 per cent in April.

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