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The major bank has announced that it has appointed a new GM of third-party banking, effective from 3 March 2025.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) has announced that it has appointed a new general manager of third-party banking.
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Baber Zaka – currently the chief operating officer, third-party banking at CBA – has been named as the incoming leader for the bank’s broker channel.
Zaka will take on the role from Razia Khan, who is stepping into a new position at the major bank. She is set to become Commonwealth Bank’s general manager, premier banking.
The incoming GM of third-party banking has worked at CBA for the past decade and, over the past four years, has held several senior leadership positions in the third-party channel.
As well as his current role, he has also been executive manager for third-party banking, distribution strategy, and partnership management, alongside several finance industry roles across both Australia and the UK for the past 20 years.
Speaking about the new appointment, CBA’s executive general manager, home buying, Dr Michael Baumann, said: “For the past 10 years, [Baber] has held a number of senior roles across the Commonwealth Bank and officially joined the third-party banking team back in 2020.
“Most recently, he was responsible for delivering a number of system changes and improvements to help our brokers grow their businesses as our chief operations officer.
“Baber not only brings a lot of technical and industry knowledge to this role, but his commitment to helping broker businesses to thrive is unquestionable.”
Zaka said he was excited to continue strengthening relationships with the third-party channel and helping brokers grow their businesses.
“Having worked closely with brokers for the past five years, I know how important it is to have the right foundations and strong relationships, and this will remain a priority for me and the team,” he said.
“I’m also excited to see how we can further make our processes simpler and easier, and ultimately give our brokers more confidence to grow their businesses with us.”
Baumann thanked Khan for her contribution and said she had not only been a valuable member of the bank’s home buying leadership team, but had also brought renewed energy, passion, and enthusiasm to her role as GM for third-party banking.
CBA loan book continues to grow
The major bank has long been the largest home lender in Australia, with recent figures from the prudential regulator showing that the major bank’s mortgage book grew by $3.41 billion in November 2024, with a strong rise in both owner-occupier and investment loans.
CBA’s owner-occupier mortgage portfolio stood at $380.72 billion at the end of November, while investment loans account for $193.39 billion. This translates to a 0.59 per cent growth in its book over the month, the largest growth posted by the four biggest banks in Australia.
However, the bank’s new loan volumes are now largely coming from its proprietary channel.
While a record proportion of borrowers use a mortgage broker to access home loans, the major bank’s financial results for the financial year 2024 (ending June 2024) revealed that the proprietary channel is writing two-thirds of its new mortgage flows, while its broker flows continue to shrink.
According to the bank at the time, the growth in its loan book reflected its “continued focus on retaining existing customers in a highly competitive market” coupled with “strong growth” in its proprietary channel and its new digital-only offerings.
When excluding its subsidiaries Bankwest, ASB, and Residential Mortgage Group, nearly 66 per cent of all new mortgage business came through the direct channel in FY24, an increase on 61 per cent in June 2023.
As such, more than $35.75 billion of the $55 billion new CBA-branded mortgages were lodged through the direct channel in the six-month period ending June 2024.
Instead, the major bank is believed to be looking to make Bankwest its primary broker brand. For example, its annual report said: “We can now offer two distinct banking options to support customers – a full‑service banking experience through CBA, and a simpler, digital, broker‑led experience through Bankwest.”
But even when including Bankwest, the direct channel was responsible for 54 per cent of the $69 billion of new mortgage business in the six months to June 2024, with broker flows falling to 46 per cent.
The overall mix of broker-originated loans in the total CBA portfolio now sits around 39 per cent, down from 40 per cent in June 2023.
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