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ISSUE 8.22 November 2011
Be professional, but stay ‘rebels’: MFAA
Phil Naylor
Broking to move
from ‘beta’ stage by remaining disruptive and entrepreneurial Brokers must balance increased professionalism with maintaining their role as market disruptors and “rebels”, if they are to continue to shake up the mortgage industry. MFAA CEO Phil Naylor has said mortgage broking is increasing in its standards of professionalism, but as this transition occurs, brokers must seek to maintain their consumer proposition as industry iconoclasts. “They’ve come in as rebels and
created a service, and now they’re sort of caught on the cusp. Do they continue with that sharpness and that entrepreneurialism, or do they consolidate into some sort of institution?” Naylor said. Speaking at a recent conference held by LIXI in Sydney, Naylor said the entry of brokers into the mortgage market had helped to drive innovation and consumer engagement. He commented that brokers had also helped in creating more educated consumers. “Brokers have really been very much a part of the democratisation of the mortgage sector. “In a sense they’ve become consumer advocates, and made consumers much more aware of
the many products available to them,” he said. As consumers have become more aware, Naylor said the broker proposition has begun to evolve. “The broker model is still sort of in its beta stage. It’s been out there, it’s developed, it’s had issues but it’s still a very valuable proposition,” he said. Part of this evolution is an increase in professional standards. Naylor said the push towards more professionalism in the industry was largely driven by brokers. “The MFAA’s role as determined by its members is that they want to be seen as operating at the highest level of professional standards and educational standards; so we’ve put those standards in place,” Naylor commented. However, as professional standards have improved, Naylor said brokers must maintain the entrepreneurial spirit that saw them bring major disruptions to the mortgage sector. “The sharpness in the broker sector is necessary in order to get heard,” he said. Naylor also predicted the broker proposition would have to evolve into a professional advisory role, while maintaining this “sharpness”. “The next step is moving away from the transactional model they had at the start, and moving much more into the advisory space. That doesn’t mean they can’t still be entrepreneurial and sharp, but it’s just changing the offer and changing the relationship they have with consumers,” he said.
Productivity slammed Channel sustainability to depend on efficiency boost Page 4
Borrower disputes ‘Buying time’ blamed for financial hardship cases Page 10
Commission threat Lender price war to drive focus on distribution costs Page 12
Inside this issue News special 12 PLAN conference headlines Analysis 20 Brokers to go ‘hybrid’ Forum 23 On ACLs, vals and efficiency Insight 24 Fee-for-service experiences Market talk 26 Businesses gain demand Toolkit 27 When does the NCC apply? Caught on camera 29 ING Direct greets brokers