Broker satisfaction with BDMs at record high

Lender BDMs grew their satisfaction scores to record highs in July but not all lenders were given a reason to celebrate, the latest monthly Broker Pulse survey has found.

The July Broker Pulse survey from Momentum Media revealed that during that month, brokers assigned lender business development managers (BDM) a score of 58, the highest on record (beating the previous record of 56).

Lender BDM satisfaction scores have hovered around this level for six consecutive months.

The survey of 249 brokers was conducted between 1 and 15 August to gauge broker experiences when submitting applications with lenders throughout the month of July.

It found that among the most commonly used authorised deposit-taking institutions [ADI] (those used by more than 20 per cent of broker respondents), Macquarie Bank continued to hold its lead, as 92 per cent of brokers surveyed rated their experience with their BDMs as positive for the second consecutive month.

ING unseated Bankwest to secure second spot but its positive rating fell marginally from 91 per cent in June to 89 per cent in July.

While Adelaide Bank was ranked third with an 88 per cent positive rating, Bankwest slipped to fourth position with an 86 per cent positive rating (down from 91 per cent in June).

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) was the top-ranked major bank and sixth overall in the most commonly used ADI segment, with an 80 per cent satisfaction rating, while NAB was ranked seventh at 75 per cent.

Among the less commonly used ADIs (those used by less than 20 per cent of broker respondents), the BDMs at Bank Australia, Beyond Bank, and HSBC achieved perfect scores, while six lender BDMs in this segment were given negative ratings.

Not a rosy picture for all lender BDMs

While overall lender BDMs ratings were at record high levels, satisfaction with some lender BDMs across different segments plummeted, according to the July Broker Pulse data.

For example, only 44 per cent of brokers rated their experience with Westpac BDMs as positive (down from 59 per cent in June and 77 per cent in May 2022).

Consequently, the major bank saw a decline in overall broker experience ratings, down from 74 per cent in May to 58 per cent and 57 per cent in June and July respectively.

The performance by Westpac BDMs was echoed in the 2022 Third-Party Lending report, which found that its personnel (which include BDMs, credit assessment staff, and call centre support) and turnaround times dragged down its ratings.

Similarly, satisfaction levels with BDMs at less commonly used ADI ubank (formerly 86 400) has been plummeting for the last couple of months, down from 100 per cent in May to 85 per cent in June and only 60 per cent in July.

In May, the NAB-owned digital bank ubank opened the brand up to brokers for the first time in its 13-year history after officially merging into one brand with the neobank formerly known as 86 400.

Broker dissatisfaction with ubank credit assessors and the assessment phase also increased in July, with only 45 per cent of broker respondents reporting feeling satisfied (down from 54 per cent in June and 60 per cent in May).

At the same time, the proportion of brokers reporting negative experiences with the non-major bank’s credit assessors jumped from 8 per cent in June to 36 per cent in July.

Credit assessor ratings steady

Overall satisfaction with credit assessors across all lenders remained steady, with brokers assigning them a score of 48.

While Macquarie Bank and ING achieved the highest level of broker satisfaction among the large ADIs at 93 per cent, satisfaction with the assessment phase at Suncorp plunged from 84 per cent in June to 71 per cent in July, while NAB’s satisfaction levels also plummeted from 93 per cent in June to 79 per cent in July.

In the small ADI segment, credit assessors at Beyond Bank and MyState achieved perfect scores, while brokers assigned negative scores to five lenders (down from nine in June).

Among the non-banks, satisfaction with La Trobe Financial credit assessors spiked, with 92 per cent of broker respondents rating their experience as positive (up from 69 per cent in June).

As a result, the non-bank lender jumped to top position in the segment from seventh place in June.

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