Satisfaction with large ADIs at record high: Broker Pulse

The proportion of brokers satisfied with their experience at the larger banks climbed to a record high in June, according to new data.

Results from the latest monthly Broker Pulse survey from Momentum Intelligence has revealed that a record proportion of brokers are satisfied with their experiences using large authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs).

According to the survey, almost two-thirds (65 per cent) of brokers said they were satisfied with their experience using large ADIs (those used by more than 20 per cent of broker respondents) over the month of June, the largest proportion of brokers satisfied with this segment (and equal to March 2022 levels).

The survey of 235 residential brokers was conducted between 1 and 14 July to uncover their experiences with lenders throughout June 2022.

As well as high satisfaction at the largest banks, the Broker Pulse survey shows that satisfaction generally is increasing across the board.

It found a greater proportion of brokers were satisfied with their experience at smaller ADIs (those used by less than 20 per cent of respondents), increasing from 63 per cent in May 2022 to 68 per cent in June 2022).

Similarly, satisfaction levels with the most commonly used non-banks grew from 73 per cent in May to 76 per cent over June.

Broker satisfaction with Westpac, ME Bank tanks

Despite record-high satisfaction with large ADIs, not every lender in this segment came out with flying colours.

Westpac took a particularly significant beating with satisfaction plummeting from 74 per cent in May to only 58 per cent in June.

This was driven by a doubling in its turnaround times, with time taken to initial credit decision blowing out to 11 days (from six days in May).

Furthermore, a fall in positive experiences at the loan assessment phase (down 22 percentage points to 55 per cent in June) and settlement phase (down 20 percentage points to 46 per cent in June) contributed to lower satisfaction levels.

Broker experience ratings also plummeted at Westpac subsidiary St.George Banking Group at the loan assessment phase (down 10 percentage points to 34 per cent) and settlement phase (down from 43 per cent in May to 37 per cent in June).

However, the lender was buoyed by an uptick in broker ratings for its business development managers (BDM) and loan application phase, leading to only a marginal dip in overall broker experience ratings in June to 46 per cent.

Overall broker satisfaction fell at ME Bank, with only 57 per cent of brokers surveyed reporting that they were satisfied, down from 62 per cent in May.

This was driven by a significant fall in positive broker experiences at the assessment phase (down from 68 per cent in May to 41 per cent in June), and settlement phase (down from 64 per cent in May to 53 per cent in June).

ME Bank – which now forms part of the Bank of Queensland (BOQ) Group – recorded a 2 per cent growth in its loan book over the first half of 2022, its first rise following a $1.4 billion decline during 2021.

NAB satisfaction rises across phases

Among the major banks, broker satisfaction with NAB grew across the different phases of the home loan process. As a result, it climbed from fifth position in May to third position in June as its overall experience ratings rose from 80 per cent to 88 per cent.

The major bank recorded increases in positive broker experiences across the application (up from 84 per cent to 91 per cent), assessment (up from 78 per cent to 93 per cent) and settlement phases (up from 77 per cent to 87 per cent).

Meanwhile, when it came to ANZ – which has been overhauling its retail and mortgage processes in the recent past – almost three-quarters of brokers surveyed were satisfied (up from 65 per cent in May), largely driven by more positive experiences at the application phase (up 12 percentage points to 81 per cent in June).

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) dropped from second to fifth place in June, largely due to less satisfaction with the settlement phase (down 10 percentage points to 88 per cent).

Non-major lender Macquarie Bank maintained its lead with the highest broker experience ratings of 96 per cent.

Satisfaction with Newcastle Permanent tumbles

Among the smaller ADIs, Beyond Bank jumped from seventh to the highest ranked lender after the proportion of satisfied brokers spiked from 69 per cent to 95 per cent in June.

The bank achieved perfect scores across its application, assessment, and settlement phases.

However, satisfaction with Newcastle Permanent plunged from 88 per cent to just 48 per cent in June, driven by lower satisfaction levels across all metrics.

Only a quarter of brokers surveyed reported being satisfied with their experience at HSBC, as none of the brokers said they were satisfied with its BDMs, or application and settlement processes.

Among non-banks, white label lenders were coming up trumps. Connective Home Loans achieved the highest broker satisfaction rating of 93 per cent, while Resimac jumped from fourth to second position after its satisfaction rating climbed from 75 per cent to 87 per cent (driven by perfect scores for its BDMs and assessment process).

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