A survey says that the number of mortgage brokers operating in Australia had reduced because of actions by lenders.
The survey conducted by the Market Intelligence Strategy Centre (MISC) says that there was an 11% reduction in the total number of brokers writing business during the June quarter.
It says lenders are reducing the number of brokers through which they distribute loans.
MISC claims the trend reflects that "banks and other lenders are clearly targeting specialist brokers and reducing the number they seek to deal with".
It says this rationalisation process is a feature of a maturing industry.
"The brokers are consolidating and merging with other sometimes interstate groups or acquiring consultants who once acted independently to join their groups."
The broker pool consisted of 556 brokers writing loans in the three-month period, compared to 623 active brokers in the March quarter and 2500 known to occasionally write mortgages.
MISC defines an active broker as one which has settled three or more loans in a quarter. This is the first time the MISC survey has shown a reduction in active brokers.
