By
Andrea Cornish
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12/07/2010 6:00:00 AM
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6
comments
Macquarie Bank is finalising distribution agreements with large Australian broking groups in an attempt to regain a foothold in the mortgage industry.
The lender is planning to fund up to $5bn worth of mortgages in the next 12 months.
The bank has been testing a new product, the Macquarie Bank Mortgage Solution, through AFG and Vow Financial brokers since late last year. The product boasts a variable rate of 7.41% and a discounted package rate of 6.81% for property investors who borrow more than $400,000.
Initial testing received good feedback from brokers according to a spokesperson for Macquarie, with ten aggregators now offering Macquarie's Mortgage Solution suite of products.
Macquarie executive director Frank Ganis said: “Our strategy is to offer an integrated financialservices product which targets a specific group of borrowers rather than take a broad-based approach.
"Our research indicated there is a segment of borrowers who are looking for a holistic financial package, with options they can choose from, that could help to support their financial goals.
The Optimum Package, which is the flagship product, includes options such as the Macquarie Platinum Credit Card and the MortgageGuard insurance product. Ganis said the incorporation of additional financial services products provided a more integrated solution for borrowers, while also helping to support brokers who are increasingly focused on diversification.
“It enables brokers to expand their service proposition to clients,” Ganis said.
The approach is proving popular with borrowers and brokers, according to Ganis, with the "vast majority" of borrowers electing to take up all components of the package at the time of application.
Macquarie said in a statement it remained focused on the intermediary channel as its primary method of distribution, and a key focus was to provide market leading service.
Ganis said future business development plans would focus on bringing together Macquarie’s experience in mortgages with its broad financial services expertise.
Macquarie owns a 10% stake in AFG and took out a 20% stake in the relative newcomer Vow Financial in 2009, signaling its initial return to the sector.
The lender wound down its participation in the mortgage market in early 2008 when the credit crisis crippled Macquarie Mortgages, which was largely dependent on securitisation.
Its exit shocked and disappointed brokers and mortgage managers. Connective head of mortgages Mark Haron told The Herald Sun on the weekend he views Macquarie’s return with mixed feelings.
“It was frustrating when they pulled out of mortgages. It did hurt some brokers and their clients.
“They’ve got some good products and their credit policies are competitive but I think some brokers will be a little bit gun-shy.”
Latest Comments
Total:
6
comment(s)
Patrick on
12 Jul 2010 10:39 AM
Ho-hum! I do not see anything special about this in either price or features.
TM on
12 Jul 2010 11:04 AM
Why should wer trust Macquarie again when they let us down so badly last time around. They caused a lot of my customers to have to refinance and thus incur early exit fees which were extremely high, when they pulled out of the market last time.
jaded on
12 Jul 2010 12:01 PM
I am glad there is another player coming into the market. But unfortunately, any small niches Macquarie bring are already in the market and are available on slightly lower interest rates and fees. The majors won''t be one bit threatened by this re-launch. Macquarie still have a relatively big exit cost and really nothing that grabs my attention. Given the hurt they caused to so many when they pulled out, they have a long way to go to be looked at seriously as many brokers remain wary of them. Their marketing team probably think they will just put a toe in the pool so as not to cause a splash. Then slowly gain everyone''s confidence before embarking on competitive strategies. They would first need to make sure their systems can deliver top notch service levels or brokers would hate them all over again. I hope they can get their act together and lose the timidness so they can start challenging the majors sooner than later.
Victorian Country Broker on
12 Jul 2010 12:55 PM
I can see very little in the above that will be useful to me. There is nothing in here which would cause me any excitment at ALl.
This is besides being able to trust them to stay in the market wg=hen ot gets tough again.
Tony H on
12 Jul 2010 02:17 PM
You can''t keep crapping in your own nest and Macquarie have let one too many go for my way of thinking. They join Westpac as lenders I will never use. In fact I actively discourage everybody I talk to about doing business with them. We do have a voice.
wayne on
13 Jul 2010 02:57 PM
They went from the cheapest last time to the most $$$$$$
Doing this while they had known they would Bail out and leave lots of brokers,,,Borrowers and manangers out of pocket
we dont need you stay where ever you are