Lender Spotlight: NAB (October 2024)

In this edition of Broker Pulse: Residential Lending, we explore NAB’s performance over the past five years, analysing broker usage, experience, turnaround times, and key reasons brokers chose NAB. With data extending from December 2019 to October 2024, this long-term view highlights NAB’s evolving role in the residential lending market.

Broker Usage

NAB’s broker usage has shown a dynamic trajectory over the last five years. In December 2019, 26.5% of brokers reported using NAB, and this figure rose to 32.8% in October 2024, reflecting a sustained upward trend. Peaks were observed during periods of strategic promotions and product enhancements, particularly in 2023, when broker usage briefly surpassed 34%.

However, there were periods of decline. In mid-2020, broker usage fell to 24.8%, coinciding with longer turnaround times and increased competition from digital-first lenders. NAB’s ability to recover usage rates since 2021 demonstrates its adaptability and targeted engagement with brokers.

Broker Experience

Broker sentiment has seen marked improvement over the years. NAB’s Net Promoter Score (NPS), a critical measure of broker satisfaction, dropped to -50 in June 2020. This indicates that brokers had more negative sentiment than positive sentiment for the lender, and a negative NPS is usually an indicator of something wrong or missing. But NAB seemingly listened to brokers and worked to improve their NPS, bringing it up to +44 in September 2024, reflecting a notable shift in broker perceptions.

Turnaround Times

Turnaround times have been a long-standing challenge and opportunity for NAB. The lender exhibited a peak in turnaround times, taking a median of 20 business days in February of 2020, but has shown an active effort to develop faster turnaround times since. In September 2024, NAB’s average turnaround time was just 3 business days.

Reasons for Choosing NAB

When asked why they chose to work with NAB, brokers could indicate that the primary reason they recommended the lender was: product pricing, client circumstances, turnaround times, client preference, or ease of use.

Throughout the past five years, client circumstances have been the main driver for brokers recommending NAB to their clients. 

Product pricing, turnaround times, and client preference are still important factors for many brokers, but the clear majority of respondents indicate that client circumstances have the greatest impact on their choice to recommend NAB.

‍

Conclusion

NAB’s performance in residential lending has evolved significantly since 2019. While broker usage and satisfaction have steadily improved, challenges remain. Broker comments indicate that BDMs are incredibly helpful, but that the overall process could be improved and reduce how much brokers rely on BDMs for information and services.

“Overall, a very good experience. It was not always easy to find the info I needed on the broker portal (would be good for after-hours work) but the BDM was very helpful”
(September 2024 Broker Pulse)

“The credit process can sometimes be drawn out and they overcomplicate things. The NAB BDM always has to check with a higher authority before providing advice”
(August 2023 Broker Pulse)

‍