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As it has for several months now, Macquarie Bank topped the list for overall broker experience ratings in Agile Market Intelligence’s monthly survey of brokers, with 96 per cent of respondents satisfied with each stage of the business development manager (BDM), application, assessment, and settlement phases.
Bankwest and ING followed at 91 per cent, ahead of St.George Banking Group (88 per cent), Suncorp Bank (86 per cent), and National Australia Bank and Westpac (both 85 per cent).
Macquarie Bank’s consistency across the loan life cycle remained a standout, recording 95 per cent approval ratings for its BDMs, 97 per cent for the application process, 94 per cent for assessment, and 96 per cent for settlement.
Among non-major banks, P&N led with 92 per cent satisfaction, while AFG Home Loans topped the non-bank segment at 89 per cent.
However, the survey also pointed to a broader softening in service metrics. Overall BDM experiences dipped to a net score of 64 out of 100, down from 69 in February.
While Macquarie maintained strong results with 95 per cent of respondents reporting a positive BDM experience, the major banks lagged behind – with National Australia Bank at 78 per cent, Westpac at 80 per cent, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group at 77 per cent, and Commonwealth Bank at 70 per cent.
A similar trend was evident among credit assessors, where Macquarie again led with 94 per cent satisfaction, as overall scores fell from 61 to 57.
Turnaround times further highlighted the divergence, with Macquarie averaging two days, almost half the 3.9-day average for large authorised deposit-taking institutions (ADIs). The fastest of the big four was National Australia Bank at four days.
Offshore or onshore?
The results come as Macquarie Bank moves to adjust its service model, announcing plans to bring all customer service roles back onshore as part of its strategy to improve consistency and speed.
“Having our teams here in Australia means we can deliver a straightforward experience more consistently,” Marion Fryer, head of client service at Macquarie Bank, said.
“It’s simpler, and it works better for customers. What we’re aiming for is a ‘one-conversation’ approach where a single specialist can resolve more customer needs from start to finish. Our decision to invest even further in building out local expertise is a key part of that focus.”
Other banks have moved in the opposite direction. ANZ has around 8,000 staff in India, while CBA has over 6,000 offshore workers. NAB has over 1,000.
The move has reignited discussion across the broker channel around the role of onshoring versus offshoring in shaping service outcomes, particularly as turnaround times and communication quality remain under scrutiny.
Indeed, on a recent episode of Broker Daily Uncut, Finni brokers Costa Arvanitopoulos and Rebecca Carlson outlined the positives of an onshore banking team.
“What I’ve liked about Macquarie is that when you submit an application, the turnaround time is often less than a day,” Arvanitopoulos said.
“They’ll give you a call if there’s any issues or there’s something in an application they want clarifying. Because they’re an onshore team, that process is just a bit slicker.”
Carlson noted that an offshore team didn’t necessarily cause detriment to the application process if proper training was conducted.
She said: “Realistically, there are well-trained offshore staff and there are not well-trained offshore staff. I think offshoring is a reality, but whatever bank is going to have them, they really need to focus on the training and the co-ordination.”
[Related: AFG major bank flows steady but regaining ground]
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