Brokers reveal their lender of choice (and why)

Agile Market Intelligence has released its Broker Pulse survey for the month of December 2023, revealing that ANZ continued to be the most commonly used lender by brokers over the month – with 43 per cent brokers submitting applications to the major bank.

The findings were based on a survey of 267 brokers between 8 and 19 January 2024, which asked them about their experiences when submitting loan applications to lenders throughout the month of December 2023.

Indeed, the new survey has revealed that ANZ was the most commonly used lender by brokers over the entire calendar year.

On average, in any given month in 2023, 43 per cent of brokers used ANZ for their clients – the highest proportion of any lender.

Why are brokers turning to ANZ?

Client circumstances topped the primary reason for brokers choosing ANZ (62 per cent) followed by product pricing (37 per cent) and client preference (27 per cent).

ANZ also remains the only major bank with a cashback offer in market for external refinances. It is currently offering $2,000 cashback on eligible loans over $250,000 with a deposit of 20 per cent or more.

However, while ANZ was the most commonly used lender in December last year, many brokers were dissatisfied with several aspects of its service.

For example, one broker urged the lender to update its broker portal and create a fully electronic application processing system.

Speaking on The Adviser’s Elite Broker podcast earlier this month, IFA Mortgages broker Luke Harborne added: “This is my biggest gripe; pardon me ANZ, but you guys have got to get onto DigiDocs because you’re one of the only ones at the moment that’s not doing it. Of the lenders I’ve been using recently, it’s just ANZ that are still doing physical documents.”

Others bemoaned its application process, as well as the quality of service provided by credit assessors, ability to monitor an application’s progress, and the fact they had to deal with multiple assessors.

Macquarie the go-to for speedy mortgages

There was a considerable gap between ANZ and the second most commonly used lender Macquarie Bank.

Around 35 per cent of brokers used Macquarie for their clients in December, with the non-major also being the second most commonly used lender over the calendar year (with 38 per cent of brokers saying they used Macquarie in 2023).

Despite ANZ maintaining its top position as the most commonly used lender for the third month in a row, Macquarie Bank provided the best broker experience between October and December 2023, according to the survey.

The latter scored the highest three-month average broker experience rating among large authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs) at 93 per cent, while ANZ ranked a distant 10th out of 12 large ADIs (those used by more than 20 per cent of broker respondents) included in the survey.

More than half (55 per cent) of brokers turned to Macquarie Bank because of its turnaround times in December 2023, when it took two business days to reach an initial credit decision. The lender’s consistently fast turnaround times have helped it gain a strong broker following in the past few years – having been one of the few lenders that did not blow out drastically over the peak years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Almost half the brokers said product pricing was their primary reason (48 per cent) for using Macquarie, while 37 per cent said client circumstances drove their choice.

Brokers also said they were pleased with Macquarie Bank’s quick response and the speed with which it processed applications, as well as its policies and business development managers (BDM). The lender’s BDM satisfaction rating was 95 per cent.

However, one broker noted that Macquarie Bank’s price increase was a concern, while another said rates were revised after the loan was settled, which they said was not a good practice.

To find out more about the Broker Pulse survey and participate in future surveys, visit the Broker Pulse survey website.