Login
ISCOVER
AFG has created the role of a ‘BID coach’ to assist its broker network in implementing BID measures into their business.
The best interests duty (BID) came into effect for mortgage brokers on 1 January of this year, legally obliging brokers to put the needs of consumers before their own (with a proposed extension of the duty to other brokers currently under review).
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Looking for more benefits? Become a Premium Member.
As part of the training and education offered to broker members about BID, Australian Finance Group (AFG) has created a new BID coach function.
The role’s purpose is to ensure brokers “feel comfortable with the way BID is working for their customers,” according to the aggregation group's national compliance manager, Shirley Elliot.
The position will be filled on a rotation basis by existing employees within the compliance team of AFG, and will provide one-on-one assistance to brokers regarding the new duty.
Ms Elliot said the role was a critical part of AFG’s strategy to help its brokers.
“Our compliance team currently works with our brokers to ensure they have the tools and support they need to meet their regulatory requirements,” she added.
“With the creation of the new role of BID coach, we will be redirecting a member of the team to focus specifically on BID in a tailored session to suit the individual broker’s needs. As BID coach, the team member will be providing one-on-one coaching for brokers to ensure they are supported to meet their BID obligations,” she said.
“This is a key focus for our support team at a time when our brokers are writing record numbers and helping more customers than they ever have before so we want to ensure they have all the help they need,” Ms Elliot concluded.
Speaking on the aggregation group’s support program, AFG’s head of sales and distribution, Chris Slater, said: “We had almost 900 brokers on our broker insights webinar last week and another one scheduled this week where the whole focus is best interests duty and understanding the regulations around conflicted remuneration,” he said.
“We took more than 100 questions from brokers wanting guidance, support and help with live transactions so we know brokers want one-on-one support and a team they can rely on, so we are very pleased to be delivering this key support for our brokers,” he concluded.
AFG recently announced that it had partnered with Symple Loans, broadening its broker members’ access to the lender’s personal loan products, and last month welcomed TrailBlazer Finance to its asset finance lender panel in January 2021.
The aggregation group is currently in discussions to merge with aggregation group Connective, in a deal estimated to be worth $120 million.
A combined Connective-AFG entity would cover approximately 40 per cent of the broker channel.
[Related: Proposed BID extension delayed]
JOIN THE DISCUSSION