Kiwibank on more advisers’ shopping lists

Kiwibank is continuing its push into the mortgage advice sector signing up another 133 relationships in the first half of its financial year.

Besides those sign ups it had another 40 advisers going through training programmes and another 100 in the pipeline.

Kiwibank chief executive Steve Jurkovich says this means the bank is now “on the shopping list of more customers.”

He says volumes continue to grow and 65% of applications now come through advisers and NZ Home Loans.

“The pull through rate is pretty steady compared to when we when we don’t have an active home loans campaign in market,” he told TMM.

The drawdown rate between the two channels is “remarkably similar”, he says.

Late last year Kiwi Group Holdings, which owns NZ Home Loans, took a majority stake in Link Financial Group which includes Mortgage Link.

NZHL is a major source of home loan business for Kiwibank.

Jurkovich was asked whether he expects Mortgage Link to start sending more business Kiwibank’s way.

He says Kiwibank wants “all businesses we partner with” to do well.

“I hope we earn more from the Link relationship, but we have to earn it,” he says.

“Every single day we have to earn our right.”

Jurkovich says the future of mortgage advice looks a little bit like the future of banks.

He sees it as being a mix of technology with a human touch.

Likewise, both groups “all face more regulation and scrutiny.”

He is not a fan of moves by other banks to have special deals available to customers only through mortgage advisers, as BNZ did recently.

Such arrangements are “pretty tricky to explain” to customers.

“My preferences is to be really consistent across the board.”

“We want to be competitive and are not keen on picking and choosing deals by channel.”

In the first half of the financial year Kiwibank grew its home loan book at one and a half times system growth.

“Our winning aspiration is to stick to the one and a half times system growth,” he says. ✚