We reveal which five banks were ranked top in our 2017 Brokers on Banks survey.
Brokers may be just one of many channels in Australia’s mortgage industry, but they represent more than 50% of the market, meaning a similar number of customers are at risk of a bad experience when banks fail brokers.
Below are the five banks that are doing the best by brokers according to brokers.
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Position in 2016: 1st
Westpac made it three in a row, comfortably securing the title of 2017’s Bank of the Year. Westpac won the same number of categories as last year, falling to second in product diversification opportunities but winning the category for commission structure. The bank’s performance was consistently excellent: There was just a single category (interest rates) in which it was not in the top three banks.
It’s that consistency that allows Westpac to stay ahead of its major bank competitors. In areas like commission structure, Westpac clinched the number-one spot, whilst ANZ, CBA and NAB didn’t even make the top three. From this survey, it appears that Westpac may have avoided the worst of the turnaround-time blowouts and unpopular rate hikes that have plagued the other majors.
The challenge for Westpac now is to persuade all brokers, not just their regulars, that they’re the best lender out there, and to offer quality services to back it up.
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Position in 2016: 3rd
It’s taken several years for ANZ to break through to the silver-medal spot, making the achievement all the sweeter. The bank received excellent results for its credit policy, a category it won, as well as good scores in other areas. ANZ will be disappointed about its results for turnaround times – a category it used to dominate – where it didn’t even make the top three, whilst commission structure and interest rates remain areas of weakness, which could keep the bank off the number-one spot if not addressed.
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Position in 2016: 2nd
CBA didn’t lose out on second place by much, yet the bank still slipped to third, which should come as worrying news. The numbers show brokers still rate CBA’s products and technology highly, yet its results for BDM support and turnaround times were far below those of its immediate competitors. Furthermore, some of the harshest comments by brokers were reserved for CBA. Clearly the bank has some holes – but if they can be plugged, that could return it to second place, if not higher
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Position in 2016: 4th
When Suncorp burst into the top five last year, it was easy to see it as a one-off. Evidently, that’s not the
case. Whilst the bank doesn’t shine in particular categories outside of interest rates, brokers consistently score it highly, which is why its average result is so high. Suncorp has experienced blowouts this year, and respondents to our survey certainly criticised these, yet it appears Suncorp’s products and service continue to place it above much larger competitors.
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Position in 2016: 8th
This year’s big shock result has to be Bankwest, which jumped from eighth place to fifth, pushing out a major bank in the process. They’ve done it through excellent top-three results in the key areas of BDM support, turnaround times and interest rates. It’s not uncommon for a non-major to win the latter, but BDMs and turnaround times are important categories that are traditionally dominated by the majors, making Bankwest’s arrival in the top five a special achievement.
Look out for who won Product of the Year in our Wednesday newsletter.
Below are the five banks that are doing the best by brokers according to brokers.
Position in 2016: 1st
Westpac made it three in a row, comfortably securing the title of 2017’s Bank of the Year. Westpac won the same number of categories as last year, falling to second in product diversification opportunities but winning the category for commission structure. The bank’s performance was consistently excellent: There was just a single category (interest rates) in which it was not in the top three banks.
It’s that consistency that allows Westpac to stay ahead of its major bank competitors. In areas like commission structure, Westpac clinched the number-one spot, whilst ANZ, CBA and NAB didn’t even make the top three. From this survey, it appears that Westpac may have avoided the worst of the turnaround-time blowouts and unpopular rate hikes that have plagued the other majors.
The challenge for Westpac now is to persuade all brokers, not just their regulars, that they’re the best lender out there, and to offer quality services to back it up.
Position in 2016: 3rd
It’s taken several years for ANZ to break through to the silver-medal spot, making the achievement all the sweeter. The bank received excellent results for its credit policy, a category it won, as well as good scores in other areas. ANZ will be disappointed about its results for turnaround times – a category it used to dominate – where it didn’t even make the top three, whilst commission structure and interest rates remain areas of weakness, which could keep the bank off the number-one spot if not addressed.
Position in 2016: 2nd
CBA didn’t lose out on second place by much, yet the bank still slipped to third, which should come as worrying news. The numbers show brokers still rate CBA’s products and technology highly, yet its results for BDM support and turnaround times were far below those of its immediate competitors. Furthermore, some of the harshest comments by brokers were reserved for CBA. Clearly the bank has some holes – but if they can be plugged, that could return it to second place, if not higher
Position in 2016: 4th
When Suncorp burst into the top five last year, it was easy to see it as a one-off. Evidently, that’s not the
case. Whilst the bank doesn’t shine in particular categories outside of interest rates, brokers consistently score it highly, which is why its average result is so high. Suncorp has experienced blowouts this year, and respondents to our survey certainly criticised these, yet it appears Suncorp’s products and service continue to place it above much larger competitors.
Position in 2016: 8th
This year’s big shock result has to be Bankwest, which jumped from eighth place to fifth, pushing out a major bank in the process. They’ve done it through excellent top-three results in the key areas of BDM support, turnaround times and interest rates. It’s not uncommon for a non-major to win the latter, but BDMs and turnaround times are important categories that are traditionally dominated by the majors, making Bankwest’s arrival in the top five a special achievement.
Look out for who won Product of the Year in our Wednesday newsletter.
