Lenders start 3rd quarter with improved performance

Hundreds of brokers across Australia have reported that many lenders continue to improve their services in the third-party channel. According to Broker Pulse’s recently released survey ( conducted from 1-10 August 2021), which had 243 responses, turnaround times and performance are two indicators driving the positive shift. 

Large ADIs

After brokers reported tanking performance throughout the pandemic, most big banks exhibited steady recovery for the fourth straight month since April 2021. 

CBA, ME Bank, and Suncorp all marked expanding turnarounds in the past year, reaching as much as 16 to 17 business days to initial credit decision. In July 2021, the three “large lenders” (more than 20 per cent broker usage) halved their turnarounds when compared to the beginning of the second quarter, to sit at eight business days.

ME Bank improved its overall reputation as its BDMs received the third highest rating in July matched by credit assessors quadrupling their consistency performance since May 2021 and reaching a record-high for the last 18 months. 

Brokers added that it was twice as easy to transact with Suncorp in July than in April 2021, despite BDMs getting a sharp drop in ratings from 38 in June to nine in July.

Meanwhile, CBA reaped the rewards for improved performance as it saw increased broker usage in July, with close to half of all broker respondents lodging applications with the bank.

Westpac, on the other hand, continued to struggle to reduce its turnarounds but consistently demonstrated month-on-month improvement since April 2021. Sitting at 13.1 days, Westpac is at record speed for the last 12 months. 

Large non-ADIs

For most non-bank lenders, the time to initial decision was generally under control in the past 12 months. Pepper Money, Liberty Financial, AFG Home Loans, Firstmac, and Advantedge all kept turnarounds to a maximum of seven days.

While brokers reported a slight blip on Bluestone Mortgages’ turnaround in February 2021, when it reached 11 business days (up from only three business days in January of the same year), the lender quickly recovered the following month. In July, it sat at five days to initial credit decision, according to Broker Pulse members, the fastest among the large non-ADIs.

Better Choice Home Loans and La Trobe Financial are yet to come on par with most of their competitors as their turnarounds continue to zigzag, currently sitting at 7.7 and 8.4 days, respectively. 

On the other end of the spectrum, Resimac’s turnaround time sits at 11 business days, with brokers reporting sharp drops in net promoter scores, BMD helpfulness, and transparency in the lender’s credit evaluations.

Small ADIs

While most small ADIs (broker usage below 20 per cent) kept the bar high in turnaround times throughout the pandemic, Teachers Mutual has struggled with double-digit turnarounds since May 2020. The lender’s time to initial decision peaked at 21.3 days in August 2020 and has since experienced bouncing turnarounds.

Recently, however, Teachers Mutual halved its turnarounds for two months in a row and is now taking only 5.4 days to initial decision, much closer to its strong start in February 2020 of only 3.5 business days.

Brokers also rated its BDMs and credit evaluators more than twice as high in July than in May 2021, landing them their best personnel performance since May 2020.

While Citibank’s loan turnaround time was a day longer in July than in June 2021, it has nevertheless doubled its loan processing speed since April, at eight business days. The small ADI also quadrupled its credit consistency rating and doubled its customer effort scores, suggesting that it is now much easier for brokers to lodge applications with the bank.

BOQ, on the other hand, trails the pack in terms of overall lender performance. According to the most recent survey, it has the longest turnaround among small lenders, currently sitting at 15 business days. Brokers also found it most difficult to process applications and interact with its BDMs, as well as to rely on consistency in loan assessments.