Mortgage brokers in Germany can charge up to 3 per cent commission, according to ING Direct.
The bank’s executive director of distribution, Lisa Claes, said the market-driven environment allows German brokers to charge up to 3 per cent commission on the loans they write.
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.
“However, not many do because they use the commission rate to adjust the customer rate, so what they do is they can customise the rate using commission as leverage,” Ms Claes said.
She added that a 1 per cent reduction in the upfront commission translated to a 12.5 basis point reduction in the customer rate.
“That’s another customised tool that empowers the brokers to win customers,” she said.
The mortgage process in Germany is a challenging one, according to Ms Claes. “Like here, it is a complex process,” she said. “Brokers there are a highly valued service, so it is a deeply intermediated market in Germany.
“There are similarities there, apart from the fact that we only have a handful of real banks and they have 2,000.”