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Macquarie Bank, which left third party lending behind during the global financial crisis (GFC), appears to have shaken off its negative perception, ranking second in this year's Third Party Banking Report – Non-Major Lenders.
Many brokers were sceptical of Macquarie's commitment to the third party channel after the lender's post-GFC re-entry into the market. This was reflected in the bank's being ranked seventh by brokers in 2011 in The Adviser's Third Party Banking Report.
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This year, however, brokers appear to have recognised the lender's hard work and commitment by ranking Macquarie second overall, behind winner ING DIRECT.
According to James Casey, head of mortgages product at Macquarie, the jump from seventh place to second cannot be attributed to just one point of focus.
“On the improvements, there’s not just one single thing. It’s just a lot of hard work in a lot of areas in the business, whether it’s getting more coverage or more BDMs to get out on the road to help our clients,” Mr Casey told The Adviser.
“It’s getting our products out there in a simple structure, that’s easy to understand.”
According to Mr Casey, a business can never become complacent.
“All those parts have to be constantly looked at, constantly reviewed and constantly tweaked, and I think that as we’re moving up the rankings ... it’s been a really wonderful indication of the fact that we should just keep doing all the little things right and keep focusing on the little things.
“That’s not about coming out with a massive, insurmountable product that rocks the market; it’s about keeping your head down and getting the job done.”
Macquarie Bank ranked particularly well in the training and education, business support, turnaround times, commission structure and remuneration categories of the survey and report.
At the same time, the lender has announced the launch of Macquarie Bank Flyer Home Loans, which allow borrowers to earn Qantas Points through their mortgage repayments.
Borrowers can earn points at the time of the loan's settlement and each month for the duration of the loan period.
They will earn 10,000 Qantas Points for every $100,000 drawn down at settlement as an introductory gift (calculated to the nearest point), with an additional 25,000 bonus Qantas Points at both the third and fifth year anniversaries (as long as the outstanding loan balance is at least $150,000), plus 1,000 Qantas Points per month for the life of the loan (as long as the outstanding loan balance is at least $150,000).
