He said the bank held "a clear mandate" to use the intermediary distribution channel to acquire and increase target customers as well as "drive productivity gains from our Flame and Gold segments".
"We are very conscious of the funding issues present in the current environment, and regularly manage an optimal volume and product mix," he said.
Also, in an internal email Heavey told all affected staff to "please be confident in discussing these elements with your brokers".
Westpac acquired RAMS in January 2008 and merged with St.George in December the same year.
Related Stories
RAMS withdraws from broker channel - Amid widespread talk of economic recovery, in an unexpected turn RAMS Home Loans has taken the decision today to close its broker distribution channel.
St.George expands commercial broker offering -St.George became one of the first major banks to merge its commercial and retail intermediary businesses when it formed one comprehensive St.George Intermediary Distribution offering this week.
Latest Comments
Total:
16
comment(s)
Dave on
20 Jan 2010 11:54 AM
While I am happy to give Steve the benefit of the doubt and believe that he believes in what he is saying we all know that the decision to leave the market will not be his and he will be the last one to tell us when/if it happens. Just like RAMS Westpac will hold a press conference before telling its clients...us the mortgage broker.
Robert Krol on
20 Jan 2010 12:21 PM
I wonder if the Betting Agencies are taking bets on when St George will withdraw from the Broker Market.
benT on
20 Jan 2010 12:23 PM
Yeah like the RAMS weren''t running at 5 weeks to pickup an application from the broker channel - plus weeks of delay for ANY request.
Brett on
20 Jan 2010 12:29 PM
by bye BankSA too... sorry to see you go !
cathy on
20 Jan 2010 12:46 PM
Totally agree with Dave
Bill Ellerton on
20 Jan 2010 01:08 PM
What nonsense from St George. They are now only committed to Westpac, and I doubt if any of them will lose any sleep when they eventually cut all brokers ties. They have already given us and many other small businesses the chop by insisting we put a certain volume of business through them. Something as ethical Brokers acting in the best interests of our clients we are not prepared to do. Staggers me that like others they don’t seem to understand that they would get our business when they offer the best products and services which we in turn can offer to our clients.
T broker on
20 Jan 2010 01:23 PM
Well, i dont know but recently, 5 deals I sent to StGeorge did not go as smooth as they should be like before. One of them was declined just because "the lender (westpac?) does not feel comfortable with that" (quoted from StGeorge rep). And that deal was a straight investment purchase.
T broker on
20 Jan 2010 01:24 PM
Well, i dont know but recently, 5 deals I sent to StGeorge did not go as smooth as they should be like before. One of them was declined just simply because "the lender (westpac?) does not feel comfortable with that" (quoted from StGeorge rep). And that deal was a straight investment purchase.
Successful Broker on
20 Jan 2010 01:37 PM
StGeorge cut Brokers who never use them, as someone who uses them regularly I am happy to see it happen. They don''t charge for re- accreditation un-like most other Lenders, in fact writing those comments would take longer than getting your accreditation back, when some Lenders are charging large fees and insist on a large amount of deals, and some won''t even re- accredit, not sure how them expecting you to settle loans with them or get re- accredited is cutting Broker ties.
They pay higher comms and are a day to pick up file so I will continue to support them while they are this commited to the Broker Channel no matter who owns them.
Andrew Hunter on
20 Jan 2010 01:41 PM
Westpac''s argument on funding pressure rings hollow - why price RAMS rates so far below Westpac rates if there is pressure on funding? It''s time aggregators started demanding fixed term contracts from the lenders ie: 5 years guaranteed access.
Andrew on
20 Jan 2010 02:46 PM
RAMS were only doing 10-15 loans a day so I am not sure what the big deal is? At least SGB and Westpac have not taken products away like NAB and BankWest. And RAMS would not be around in any form if someone did not buy them. Is this all really newsworthy?
Michael on
20 Jan 2010 03:00 PM
I love how these execs feel like they need to come out with some sort of retoric rubbish to try and appease the masses. Steve, no matter what you say we won''t believe you, infact by coming out and justifying your position only puts doubt in our mind. Stop listening to the PR people and just say nothing...actions are louder than words.
Peter on
20 Jan 2010 03:14 PM
I am sure Steve completely believes what he says about St George but his masters are Westpac and their track record re reliability is not good. It reminds me of the Football Club President who comes out and says ''we have complete faith in our coach and we are 100% behind him'' just before they sack him. St George and Bankwest were once the market leaders in product and service but now they quite resemble the ventriliquist dummy with the master standing behind them moving their mouths to the message. All Westpac has to do is get rid of Steve (sorry Steve) and then say Steves comments were not necessarily in line with the Banks thinking. I hope I am wrong but Westpacs record suggests otherwise. They are quite used to smiling through the flak of unpopular decisions especially as there is little alternative.
Broker on
20 Jan 2010 06:26 PM
Gee, you had better be good to survive in this industry in the medium to long term, after 8 successful years and a very healthy trail book, I''ve just about had enough of all this bullsh&%. My loyal clients are the only thing that keeps me going, as I literally hate ( a word that I generally don''t use) the majors , all of them.
If we put our career in the hands of majors we are fools!
Bill Ellerton on
20 Jan 2010 08:40 PM
St George don't just cut brokers who never use them, they cut brokers who do less than 4 deals per year. As I said, I'd happily put more than 4 deals per year through them if their products and service were better than others - it's about being competitive. And not just about paying good broker fees.
The other issue this raises, which should probably be a separate discussion stream, is why any of the lenders should need to "accredit" brokers who are properly qualified through Cert IV and eventually ASIC. Surely ASIC should be standing up to the lenders and saying that if a broker is properly qualified, refusing to accredit them is anti-competitive behaviour.
Positive Broker on
20 Jan 2010 08:45 PM
If only we could trust St George / Westpac. I''m worried! My St george Accreditation was pulled just recently due to lack of volume which is fair enough, but the timing is very sus. This is on top of rumours I heard last year from an internal source that St George & Westpac could not afford to write loans and would be closing their mortgage business soon. I guess RAMS is the first sign of this. For the first time in nearly two years I am wondering whether I need to get out of this business. I hope not.