$4.95 POST APPROVED PP255003/06906
ISSUE 7.06 April 2010
Volume hurdles showdown
First homebuyers could be affected A recent Mortgage Choice survey confirms that interest rate rises in the next two years will deter nearly 30% of first-home purchasers Page 8
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Satisfied customers
ď Brokers called on to
voice their displeasure The FBAA is considering taking strong action against lenders who have put in place volume hurdles that brokers have to meet to remain accredited. Members of the industry body received a call-to-arms in an editorial written by vice president Ron Gunthrie in the latest issue of the FBAA magazine. In the editorial, Gunthrie lays out the argument for why volume hurdles are detrimental, and asks brokers to fill out a questionnaire to allow the FBAA to get all its âducks in a rowâ
before it moves forward. The potential outcome, as outlined in the editorial, is a submission to the ACCC. âTo look at it logically, the lenders concerned are now forcing brokers to sell their products to remain accredited with them, no matter how good or bad the product is,â Gunthrie wrote. âOne of the lenders concerned has now priced their home loans well above the rest of the market and yet we still need to sell this inferior product to the consumer to remain accredited.â He asks whether this will force brokers to recommend products that are not necessarily right for the consumer. He also said that the retraining fee that
banks require from brokers to become re-accredited amounts to little more than a grab for revenue. âThere is a virtual third-line forcing situation here where brokers are forced to submit loans to one lender to the detriment of other lenders who may have a more competitive product and superior service and processing standards,â Gunthrie wrote. âSomething the ACCC may need to consider.â However, FBAA president Peter White played down suggestions that the FBAA had made up its mind to go to the ACCC.
Page 22 cont.
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You can turn an awful customer experience around, by prioritising your customer service and setting better staff performance standards Page 22
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Off the cuff CEO of Vow Financial, Jeff Zulman, talks to AB about what it was like growing up in South Africa and his advice to those who are starting out in business Page 28
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