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St George is encouraging its broker partners to use its relatively new online servicing calculator, after the lender recorded higher than expected accuracy rate in applications.
According to St George’s general manager mortgage broking Clive Kirkpatrick, the feedback around the new online servicing calculator has been “extremely positive” – even from those who initially said they wanted to continue to work offline.
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“We understood this was a risk when we chose to go down this path. But we felt the gamble was worth it in order to ensure accurate results,” Mr Kirkpatrick said.
“It has paid off because most brokers are now more connected than ever and they’re telling us how much they love it.”
Mr Kirkpatrick said that ‘version control’, the ability to ensure that brokers use the most up-to-date version of a servicing calculator and therefore prevent outdated and incorrect assessment criteria, is a big problem with a spreadsheet format.
Unlike spreadsheet calculators, which typically only support relatively simple scenarios the Serviceability Calculator responds to the data that is input.
For example, if there are four borrowers and three investment properties in a scenario, the serviceability calculator will automatically grow to capture all those details, ensuring that a comprehensive and accurate assessment is made.
Mr Kirkpatrick said some of the key features of the online calculator included early warning of application details that have caused the application to potentially be outside of policy so brokers can pro-actively provide mitigating details as well as fully expanded calculation details.
“Online delivery means calculation details are always up to date using the latest information provided by the lender,” Mr Kirkpatrick said.
“St George is committed to the broker channel, with increased investment in new technology, process improvement initiatives, product innovation and service enhancements. The third party business remains a critical part of the overall strategy.”
