Major banks report improved NPS

The three-month average net promoter score to May improved at three major banks, while ANZ toppled Macquarie Bank to become the second-most used lender by brokers, 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 the three-month average net promoter score (NPS) improved at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), Westpac, and ANZ.

CBA’s NPS was up from 48 in April to 52 in May, while Westpac recorded a jump from two to five.

The growth in Westpac’s three-month average NPS could be attributed to a higher proportion of brokers reporting that they were satisfied with their overall experience (up 10 percentage points to 74 per cent in May).

CBA was the most used lender over March, April, and May (33 per cent), but moved down from first to second place in May (39 per cent), with more than half of all brokers (53 per cent) citing client circumstances as the reason for using the major bank.

It received the second-highest broker experience rating (90 per cent), while turnaround times reduced from four to three days in May.

Despite a jump in its NPS, ANZ remained in negative territory, rising from -6 in April to -2 in May.

The major bank was beleaguered by several issues in the recent past including significant blowouts in its turnaround times, and onboarding new credit assessors.

The bank recently introduced changes to its assessment process to tackle slow turnaround times, including the onboarding and relocation of staff, and recently revamped its third-party leadership team.

National Australia Bank (NAB) was the only major bank whose three-month average NPS declined, from 44 in April to 41 in May, after it experienced a decline in overall broker experience ratings and broker usage over May, while broker usage over three months remained steady at 24 per cent.

Macquarie Bank achieved the highest NPS of 85 amongst lenders across all segments (up from 82 in April).

In spite of this, ANZ replaced Macquarie Bank as the second-most used lender by brokers across March, April, and May, the May Broker Pulse data showed.

Indeed, on average, 30 per cent of brokers reported using ANZ for their clients across the three months, up from 27 per cent in April, while 28 per cent used Macquarie Bank (down from 30 per cent).

It was also the most used lender in May with 41 per cent of brokers reporting that they submitted applications to the major bank.

This is despite Macquarie Bank achieving the highest satisfaction ratings from brokers (up from 92 per cent in April to 96 per cent in May), and faster turnaround times (down from three days in April to two days in May).

On the other hand, ANZ’s overall broker experience rating declined from 66 per cent in April to 65 per cent in May, while its turnaround times were at eight days (down from nine days reported in April).

The biggest decision driver for brokers to recommend ANZ was client circumstances (60 per cent), while turnaround times topped broker priority at Macquarie Bank (58 per cent).

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