Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) is cleaning up its broker network, moving to remove inactive brokers from its ranks.
On Thursday, the lender confirmed it was taking steps to de-accrediting brokers who have not submitted business through CBA for more than 12 months.
In a note to brokers, seen by Australian Broker, CBA said the move forms part of its ongoing review of broker accreditation standards.
"Brokers play a critical role in helping Australians achieve property ownership. As the third-party channel grows, we are focused on deepening relationships with those who actively work with us to deliver a consistent, high-quality experience for customers," said Baber Zaka, general manager, third-party banking at CBA. "We regularly review broker accreditation as part of our governance and quality assurance, to ensure brokers are up to date with our products, policies and processes. This supports broker capability, smoother applications, more consistent service and better customer outcomes.
"We are continuing to invest in the broker experience, including through enhancements to CommBroker and targeted support for platinum brokers," Baber continued. "For platinum brokers, this includes increased credit assessment support, one-day service level agreements and fully assessed pre-approvals, alongside continued investment in our relationship managers and operations teams."
The changes take effect 19 June.
A source familiar told Australian Broker that the move is part of CBA's routine broker accreditation process, with inactive brokers removed from the panel each year. Under the review, brokers who have not submitted an application through CBA in the last year may have their accreditation revoked.
The clean-up comes as the lender continues to invest in its proprietary lending channel. CBA shifted its focus toward direct lending last spring, with home loans making up nearly 70% of its proprietary flow. The bank has noted that broker-originated loans are 20% to 30% less profitable than those written directly. Then in December, CBA — one of two initial lenders in Anthony Albanese's Help To Buy scheme — said it would not allow brokers to write loans for the launch of the program.
Baber told Australian Broker at the time, "that might change in the future."
More recently, the executive told Australian Broker: "We are committed to the broker channel as we understand the essential role mortgage brokers play in helping Australians achieve their homeownership goals. With our brokers and customers at the heart of everything we do, the third-party channel continues to play a vital role in delivering our home lending strategy."
But CBA is just one of many lenders that have signalled a push to expand their own proprietary lending channels in pursuit of higher margins, raising questions about the long-term role of mortgage brokers in Australia.
In May, National Australia Bank (NAB) revealed that its proprietary lending channels reached 50% in March, up from 35.3% of all new lending in the back half of 2023. ANZ Chief Executive Officer Nuno Matos said in October that the bank would prioritise growing in-house mortgage origination and strengthening its proprietary channel under its five-year growth strategy ANZ 2030. However, the bank's proprietary lending slipped to 31%, down from 33% in the most recent half.
Also last year, Bank of Queensland (BOQ) also said it was stepping up efforts to reduce reliance on the broker channel and bring more lending in-house.
