"We’ve cut out brokers to give you a great home loan deal," is the line BNZ is currently using is its print and television ads.
"It’s recognising that we’re becoming more popular and our role in the home loan market," Berry says.
While the BNZ ad is implying that selling mortgages through brokers is more expensive through brokers, he wonders how they can know that since even before the BNZ made its decision to stop dealing with brokers in May last year, it sold less than 5% of its loans through brokers.
Berry also suggests the BNZ’s aggressive ad indicates it is suffering from not dealing with brokers. "They must believe the broker market is hurting the bank and they’re trying to counter the impact. If brokers are getting 30%, obviously they’re missing out on that."
Already another bank, HSBC, is taking on the BNZ, telling brokers: "We won’t cut you out," and promising to match BNZ’s heavily discounted two-year fixed mortgage rate at 6.69%.
Berry says this isn’t at all unusual. Because the home loan market is so competitive, whenever any lender comes out with a special deal, it is usually a relatively short-lived offer and other lenders will match it, whatever their published rates, he says.
"We all know in the home loan market at the moment, particularly with loans of $150,000 and up, interest rate margins can be negotiable."
Berry says he still finds BNZ’s refusal to deal with mortgage brokers strange, particularly since its parent, National Australia Bank is involved with brokers in Australia.
