Lender plans to be the best bank for brokers
It’s a point of pride for the Bankwest team that the non-major bank continues to enjoy such a high status among its broker partners, ranking second in the 2024 Brokers on Banks survey.
It’s the third year in a row that Bankwest has achieved the No.2 spot in the annual awards, and there’s no doubt about the importance the bank places on brokers, given that the majority of its home loans are sourced via the third party channel.
Ian Rakhit (pictured above), general manager third party banking at Bankwest, discussed the bank’s performance in Brokers on Banks 2024 and the continuous improvements it’s making to technology, policies, services and processes to enhance the broker experience.
“Bankwest strives to be the best bank for brokers in the country, reflecting the significance of our critical broker network by embedding brokers in Bankwest’s strategy,” Rakhit says.
“We are pleased to continue to rank so highly, and I think the consistency in feedback from brokers suggests we are delivering, which is important as we strive to be Australia’s best bank for brokers.”
Rakhit says Bankwest has worked hard to establish a collaborative and mutually respectful relationship with brokers, and that has resulted in more than 80% of the bank’s home loan customers originating through the broker channel.
The relationship with brokers ensures “we’re hearing directly from the people our third party team exists to support”.
“This enables us to understand their needs and expectations and deliver the tools and services that help them provide the best possible experience for customers.”
Rakhit says Bankwest’s third party colleagues are passionate and committed to supporting brokers, and he’s tremendously proud of the service they provide. “But this year’s result, while certainly still positive, also highlights the importance of embracing a continual-improvement mindset and identifying ways in which we can better meet the needs of brokers.”
Bankwest is “going all in on brokers” in 2024, says Rakhit. This increased investment will provide greater opportunities to innovate and deliver more tools and services that brokers need and want, further improving the Bankwest Broker Portal that has become critical for brokers.
Top rankings in Brokers on Banks
Bankwest ranked No 1. in six categories of the Brokers on Banks survey: BDM support, brand trust, commission structure, credit policy, diversification and product range.
Rakhit says it’s important to back the aim of being the best broker bank with action.
“Our collaborative relationship with brokers and understanding their pain points and expectations also enables us to co-design solutions and deliver tools and services tailored to brokers’ needs, as opposed to us developing and delivering a tool based on our idea of what it should be.
“For example, we listened to broker feedback on our credit policy, and over the past year we made changes to both our investor and self-employed criteria, resulting in growth of 20% in investors and 30% in the number of self-employed customers choosing Bankwest.”
Rakhit says these changes enhanced Bankwest’s diversification and credit policy offering for brokers, complemented by growth in the bank’s credit coaches service. “This provided every broker with access to a state-specific coach who is available to support them with more complex deals.”
He says Bankwest’s commission system continues to be commended by leaders in the broker industry as the fairest in the market, with a tiered clawback policy alongside a flexible approach to making net-of-offset payments.
But underpinning technology enhancements is our people, says Rakhit.
Bankwest’s third party colleagues are passionate about delivering the support brokers need. This includes a case ownership model that strengthens brokers’ trust: they know who they are supported by from start to finish of an application, and there are policy settings that simplify the lending process for a variety of customers, such as the self-employed.
Skilled BDMs and broker support managers (BSMs) are complemented by a WA-based business operations team, which already supports and trains brokers and their support staff on new digital tools and technology.
Rakhit says these staff are also now supported by multiple new delivery crews in the broker channel.
Bankwest has also invested in its staff by offering a career framework that supports targeted development in portfolio management and credit knowledge.
“We have also engaged an external party to support with a self-awareness tool to help growth,” Rakhit says.
Improved technology and the impact of broker feedback
Technology is critical to Bankwest’s future and to meeting the rapidly changing needs and expectations of customers, says Rakhit, given that 97% of all Bankwest customer transactions are now conducted digitally.
“Bankwest has one of WA’s largest technology teams, who are plugged into CBA’s advanced tech experience and platforms, ensuring Bankwest customers and our critical broker network are safe and secure, and are delivered cutting-edge innovations.”
Brokers are provided with a world-class Bankwest Broker Portal that enables them to self-serve and, in many cases, get instant access to information and answers, fostering trust and transparency.
“This enables brokers to provide a more efficient and simple experience for their customers, who might be looking to make one of the most important financial decisions of their lives,” Rakhit says.
“DocBox, our bespoke document-sharing tool, is the perfect example of our collaboration with brokers in co-designing solutions, creating an efficient service that links brokers directly to their customers’ applications in the Bankwest system.”
Rakhit says Bankwest wants to grow nationwide as a WA-based, world-class bank, underpinned by strong digital and broker offerings. “By prioritising investment in the channels customers are choosing, we can
offer enhanced products and digital services in the future.”
Working collaboratively with brokers to co-create solutions is an integral part of delivering the tools and services brokers need to best serve their customers, Rahkit says.
“We’re preparing to deliver further innovations, such as digital identification for a simple, easy onboarding experience.”
Advantages of the broker portal
The world-class Bankwest Broker Portal is built on allowing brokers to get on with
the job of supporting their customers, says Rakhit. “It’s designed to provide brokers with a simple, easy one-stop shop packed with the self-service tools and services that provide clarity, transparency and the best possible experience for customers.
“It’s also built to support them with operating the most successful and efficient business, with the Learning Library and Broker Connect series providing invaluable education and upskilling opportunities.”
Rakhit says feedback from brokers on the bank’s instant repricing tool for new and existing customers has been overwhelmingly positive.
“It provides a fast, effective solution that enables brokers to self-serve one of their
most common customer requests, providing certainty for customers quickly and freeing up time for more complex conversations.”
Future tech improvements
Bankwest is making significant investments in the digital channels its customers are increasingly preferring.
“The digital identification project is going to be a game changer in solving what can be a particularly frustrating pain point of the onboarding process and will enable brokers and customers to verify identification instantly through digital channels,” Rakhit says.
Bankwest’s broker network has been central to enabling the development of this technology, with a group of brokers supporting the bank in piloting the program.
Other initiatives that have been rolled out to make customers’ digital lives simpler include changes to the Real Time Gross Settlement process. This no longer requires manual forms and can be performed instantly (provided the request is approved and made before the cut-off time), eliminating the need to attend a branch to obtain a bank cheque for large-sum transfers.
“Another innovation we’re bringing online centres around speech analytics, which enables our technology to analyse in real time customer interactions that come into our 24/7 Australia-based contact centre,” says Rakhit.
“This allows us to quickly identify trends and respond with rapid redeployment of colleagues to support customers when and where they need us the most.”
Bankwest is also planning to introduce digital cashout from participating EFTPOS merchants, meaning customers would no longer need to present a physical card to withdraw money and could instead use the card stored in their digital wallet.
“These are just a few of the exciting innovations we have coming down the line, with our increased investment and focus on our digital and broker channels ensuring there will be many more to follow.”
