Editorial

MORTGAGE ADVICE FORECAST: CHANGEABLE

Our unwanted arrival Covid-19 may be causing all sorts of unrest and disruption across the country, but the outlook for mortgage advisers looks pretty positive.

In this issue of TMM we have the results of our annual survey of mortgage advisers.

The more things change the more they stay the same. One of the biggest issues for advisers is turnaround times for loan applications. The fact this comes up year after year is a sad indictment on the banks.

What’s even more concerning is that this issue is only going to get worse once changes to the CCCFA come into effect.

ANZ chief executive Antonia Watson was brutally frank when she told TMM that the bank will be harder to deal with.

The good news for her is that ANZ continues to be the preferred big bank with mortgage advisers by some margin. As you will see in the lead story Westpac has been the big mover.

There is also good news for nonbanks too. Advisers have made it clear they plan to send more business to these lenders. Sixty eight percent of respondents said they planned to increase the amount they do with nonbanks compared to 42% last year.

While the outlook for mortgage advisers is good there are clouds on the horizon; arguably more clouds than in previous years. Regulation and CCCFA feature highly on the horizon. Ones we have not for some time are now visible, these include rising interest rates and the state of the housing market.

And if that wasn’t enough BNZ has made it harder for advisers with the introduction of debt to income ratios which come through the adviser channel. As we report on page 24 this move has been met with anger from advisers.

It’s hard to fathom why the bank took this stand.

While Covid-19 has put TMM’s annual conference on hold we are excited to be hitting the road later this month with roadshows in Tauranga, Wellington and Christchurch. Hopefully, we can get into Auckland sometime soon too.

These events, assuming we remain in level two, will be limited to 100 people. We are looking forward to catching up with you.

Philip Macalister

Publisher