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National Australia Bank’s (NAB) executive broker distribution Adam Brown sent out an update to brokers today (5 September), reiterating the bank’s commitment to the broker channel and its moniker of the “bank behind the broker".
Brown said: “The home loan market remains highly competitive. We recognise the vital role that brokers play in the home loan market, and we value our long-term partnerships.
“Balancing returns and growth in this dynamic market will remain important. The economic environment, including persistent inflationary pressures, is challenging for our customers and we are here to help.
“NAB continues to invest in the broker channel to make it easier for brokers and customers by simplifying and digitising the home lending experience.”
The bank’s executive further said that brokers should be on the lookout for “more exciting things to land around policy and product in the coming months”.
This comes as the commitment from the major banks to the third-party channel has been brought under scrutiny following comments from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA) and Westpac’s CEOs last week (29 August) that targeted broker remuneration.
Reacting to the update, head of broker at Finni Mortgages, Eva Loisance, said: “It is very comforting to see a major bank aligned with the needs of their broker channel at the moment, when some others/CBA seem to want a break-up."
“NAB did not only improve the application experience for brokers and clients but also by reviewing their commission model making it a lot more attractive for brokers to do business with them.
“I would think any lender having enough vision and knowing [over 70 per cent] of clients use a broker would follow NAB’s path. I am looking forward to see the positive changes this will have in the industry.”
According to Brown, among the improvements to NAB’s broker commitment was updating its clawback policy structure following feedback from the broker community.
“The changes will fix a real pain point for brokers by improving the clawback structure and the refreshed, stepped commission rate will better align NAB’s products in market,” Brown said.
“These changes came into effect from 1 September 2024 and will apply to new residential loans settled after that time.”
Key appointments made
In addition to Brown’s update, NAB has announced Anita Lindsay as the head of its Western Australian, South Australian, and the Northern Territory commercial broker and equipment finance leadership team.
Along with Lindsay, the major bank has also appointed Alex Wellman as a business development manager (BDM) for Central and North Queensland to improve NAB’s on-the-ground broker support.
Lindsay’s appointment as head of commercial broker and equipment finance in Western Australia, South Australia, and the NT aims to strengthen the bank’s commercial broker leadership team and improve the development and delivery of its broker strategy across Australia.
She will report to NAB executive commercial broker and equipment finance sales, Chris Thomas, and will lead a team of experienced BDMs and equipment finance specialists who are in charge of supporting and helping grow the major bank’s broker and customer base in the aforementioned states.
Commenting on her appointment, Thomas said: “We are excited to welcome Anita to NAB’s commercial broker leadership team, and I am confident that her 11 years of financial services industry experience, combined with her tenure of over three years at NAB will be an asset to our specialist team.
“As more borrowers choose brokers, we pride ourselves on our responsiveness and service, and our ability to work with brokers and their customers to ensure they achieve their goals and get to where they want to go.”
Lindsay said she is excited to take this next career step with the major bank and join a “dedicated team who are passionate about bringing the best of NAB to brokers and their customers”.
“I’m looking forward to hearing firsthand from brokers what their customers need and working together to provide tailored solutions to their business customers,” Lindsay said.
NAB said by leading the charge to equip brokers with essential skills and knowledge through its commercial lending workshops, it further reinforces its commitment to the channel.
Thomas said: “After a successful pilot program last year, we rolled out these comprehensive lending workshops to encourage more brokers to enter the path to commercial broking.”
Meanwhile, Wellman’s appointment as BDM looks to further support Queensland-based commercial brokers.
Wellman carries three years of experience at NAB as a small-business banker, along with broader financial services industry experience in real estate and accounting. NAB said that Wellman’s background equips him with the skills and knowledge to provide support to regional Queensland brokers.
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