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A lender has announced that it will “deactivate” the accreditation of brokers who do not successfully complete a product education evaluation.
Non-bank lender Bluestone has announced that it will require inactive brokers to participate in a webinar to be hosted over the coming month if they wish to maintain accreditation.
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According to Bluestone, its “Accreditation Refresher Webinar” will target approximately 7,000 accredited brokers (63 per cent) who have not submitted a loan since the non-bank revamped its product suite in November 2019.
Bluestone’s reaccreditation process will involve attendance in the Accreditation Refresh Webinar and the successful completion of a “short quiz” based on the information presented in the webinar.
The non-bank warned that it would “deactivate” accreditation for brokers who do not complete the reaccreditation process by 24 August but stressed that accreditation would not be terminated.
“If a deactivated broker would like to submit an application after that date, they will simply need to submit a new accreditation request,” the non-bank added.
Bluestone stated that since introducing its new product suite, it has also made a number of changes to its credit policy to ensure it produces the “best possible outcomes” for brokers and customers.
“We want to ensure each of our accredited brokers have a solid knowledge of the products and features available from us to make it easier for them to partner with us,” Bluestone told brokers.
In March, Bluestone introduced a number of lending restrictions following the initial economic shock from the COVID-19 pandemic.
The restrictions included a 35 bps interest rate hike across all products and loan-to-value ratio (LVR) tiers for new lending, reductions to the maximum LVR for principal and interest (P&I) and interest-only loans, cash-out limit reductions, and the temporary withdrawal of its line of credit product.
The non-bank also temporarily suspended lending to borrowers employed in industries hardest hit by the COVID-19 crisis – tourism, entertainment, hospitality and construction – and excluded several income types from its serviceability calculator.
However, Bluestone has since reversed several of its changes and has reduced interest rates by between 10 to 110 bps across its entire product line.
The non-bank’s line of credit offering has been reinstated (with the exception of its Specialist product), and cash-out limits have been increased to $100,000 for prime products and $50,000 for all other products.
But the suspension of lending to borrowers employed in industries vulnerable to lockdown measures has remained in place.
Bluestone wasn’t the only lender to lower its risk appetite for lending to borrowers, with its peers across both the non-bank and ADI space tightening their credit policies in response to COVID-19.
