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ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
The 2012 financial year is looking very promising for the third party distribution channel, Mortgage Choice chief executive Michael Russell has claimed.
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Speaking at the company’s annual financial results meeting in Sydney yesterday, Mr Russell said while last financial year had been tough for brokers, the future remained bright.
“If interest rates hold steady into CY12, which is looking more likely, employment remains healthy and vendor discounting continues at this pace we could well see a second and third consecutive quarter of housing finance growth to finish off the calendar year,” Mr Russell said.
Yesterday, the brokerage reported a healthy cash profit of $15.9 million – 7.4 per cent more than this time last year.
The group also managed to grow its loan book by 6 per cent to $42.4 billion and lift its franchise numbers 5.4 per cent to 368.
But despite the company’s solid growth, Mr Russell was confident the group could improve on this year’s results next year.
“With competition between lenders for higher loan volumes resulting in interest rate discounts, higher maximum LVRs and more attentive customer service, the home loan landscape is looking promising for borrowers and for the brokers who assist them.”
Mr Russell said he expected brokers to play a major role in the financial landscape moving forward.
Today, more than 40 per cent of all mortgages are written through the broker channel and, according to Mr Russell, this is unlikely to change any time soon.
