A new bank has taken the crown this year in a reshuffle of which banks brokers are rating the best
LAST YEAR’S responses to the Brokers on Banks survey mirrored the mood of brokers across Australia following the royal commission and the subsequent difficulties of working with the banks. This year, however, all that seems to be behind us.
Taking ANZ's top spot this year - in the first year ever that a non-major bank has topped the survey - was Bankwest.
The major bank has instead fallen to fifth place, while Bankwest moved up from second position to claim the winning title. Another impressive move saw Macquarie jump from eighth to runner-up.
While the profile of brokers who usually respond to these surveys remains more or less the same each year, interestingly, those taking this year’s survey have broken the mould. Usually, brokers from NSW and Victoria make up the majority of respondents, but Victoria took a step back in 2020 and brokers from the state made up less than 16%.
We saw more experienced brokers take part in the survey this year. While in 2019 the largest proportion of respondents had only been in broking for between three and five years, this year the majority have been brokers for more than six years, with most having worked in the industry for more than 15 years.
In an almost shocking twist, when brokers were asked what their most important priorities were, turnaround times was not ranked first, as it usually is. Instead, commission structure was was ranked as highest priority, with product diversification opportunities a close second.
This is despite the fact that most brokers believe turnaround times have worsened over the last year, which would suggest it should become a more important issue. Product diversification opportunities, which is usually much lower down the priority list – last year hitting the bottom at ninth place – has grown substantially in importance, presumably as more brokers look to expand their portfolios. The importance of interest rates has also dropped, but this could be the result of banks’ rates decreasing so dramatically alongside the RBA rate cuts.
As always, thank you to everyone who took part in the survey. It provides a wonderful insight into the changing sentiments of brokers and enables not just us but the banks themselves to see where they can improve in the future.
For an overview and to see which banks received medals in the various categories, continue reading below. You can also read the full report and analysis here.
Where brokers' priorities lie
Products and Pricing
Commission structure, and communications, training and development
Technology, turnaround times and service
