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ANZ’s new head of third party and relationship channel, Kieran Evans, is determined to bring a new life to the major bank, as The Adviser discovers
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WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO BRING TO YOUR NEW ROLE?
I believe I will bring fresh eyes and new experience to the role. I owned and operated a small-to-medium business and together with my long career with ANZ Corporate & Commercial Banking I believe I have empathy for business owners and, at the end of the day, brokers are business owners.
I think it is important to acknowledge first that brokers are business people and, like every other business person, they are always looking for new business opportunities.
To turn any new opportunities into business they must have a business partner that they can work with and rely on – which is where ANZ comes in.
From my preliminary discussions with brokers and aggregators, I know that the third party distribution channel is looking for outstanding service and a sound network of reliable business development managers (BDMs).
At ANZ, I believe we have a really strong team of BDMs who are committed to the broker channel. That said, we are not prepared to rest on our laurels and I will work hard at constantly improving our service.
HOW IMPORTANT IS THE BROKER CHANNEL TO ANZ?
It goes without saying that the third party distribution channel is crucial to ANZ.
On a personal level, the third party channel is very important to me. Fifteen years ago I started ANZ’s commercial origination business.
We were one of the first banks to start working with the broker channel in the commercial space and this remains a core sector of our business.
From my time working in that space, I understand what a great source of business brokers can be and realise that the business they provide is of the highest quality, which is one of the reasons I am very excited to be stepping into this new role. I look forward to working with the broker channel across all facets of their business.
WILL THE THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL CONTINUE TO GROW ITS MARKET SHARE?
I believe brokers have the opportunity to grow their businesses and their cumulative market share over the coming years.
I know that brokers provide an expceptional quality of service and I believe this will ultimately help them to win more business and grow their share of the mortgage market.
In addition to that, clients are faced with more choice than ever before, which is ultimately improving the broker proposition altogether.
WHAT ARE BROKERS TELLING YOU ARE THE BIG HURDLES AT PRESENT?
Brokers are facing a few different hurdles at the moment, but one of the biggest ones has to be the economic environment.
Credit growth is slow as borrowers continue to sit on the sidelines and this is having an impact on the third party distribution channel.
Another hurdle the broker channel is facing is compliance and the enhancements required.
That said, I believe the industry has improved exponentially in terms of professionalism. Brokers are constantly putting the customer and their needs front of mind and this is critical to their ongoing success.
While I am still coming to terms with the landscape of the role, I’m pleased to see the industry has evolved and matured dramatically since its inception with customer needs at the forefront.
HAVE YOU ANY PLANS TO CHANGE YOUR COMMISSION STRUCTURE?
We are comfortable with the economics of broking.
ANZ has worked really hard with the broker channel to develop a commission structure that is not only sustainable but profitable for our brokers – and we believe we have achieved this.
We made some changes not that long ago so, for now, we are happy with our commission structure.
WHICH MARKET SEGMENTS WILL REPRESENT THE MOST LUCRATIVE BUSINESS SECTORS FOR BROKERS, AND WHY?
I don’t think any one segment will dominate the other. I think there are plenty of business opportunities out there for all brokers.
I expect all market segments to perform quite strongly, moving forward.
Obviously, the rate environment and high rental yields make the property market very attractive to investors, but I also believe there are a lot of good commercial business opportunities out there at the moment.
As long as brokers work hard, they will find opportunities in every business sector.
