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ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
A mystery shopping exercise has found mortgage brokers are more engaged with consumers than the banks and credit unions.
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Research conducted by Core Data found mortgage brokers scored 77 over a range of criteria, ahead of the banks on 74.1 and credit unions on 73.
MFAA chief executive officer Phil Naylor said the results rubbished the Australian Consumers Association’s claim that consumers were poorly served by mortgage brokers.
“We are not surprised by the service-related scores from brokers, because 41 per cent of all Australian mortgages are written by brokers and well in excess of half all new loans are broker-written,” he said.
According to Core Data, the results were based on a number of factors including assurance – the measure of ‘comprehensive knowledge of loan products’ – and understanding.
In both categories brokers topped the field, recording a score of 87.6 in assurance – ahead of the banks and unions on 85.3 and 84 respectively – and 87.5 in understanding.
Core Data’s head of mortgage research Andrew Inwood said the mystery shopper survey of home lenders was in its eighth year and brokers had been a consistent favourite of consumers.
“Brokers put extra effort into knowing their customers and performing for them,” Mr Inwood said.
“Brokers’ income is linked to completing the loan, so they have the fastest speed-to-market for borrowers while also being the most efficient sales channel for many banks.”
He said his surveys showed that consumers relied on brokers in their role as ‘navigator’. “Borrowers know they want the best rates and the best terms for their circumstances and they want an expert to guide them there.”
