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Former GM of third party distribution at Westpac and current GM of banking at MyState Bank, Tony MacRae, shared his thoughts on not only navigating, but embracing, the current disturbance in the industry and its many implications for the future.
“We have a window of opportunity. We should use it. We should ensure that everybody is at the table. We should use diversity of thought to deliver what hopefully will be the right outcome,” MacRae told Australian Broker.
In the banking executive’s opinion, the future of remuneration needs to be worked through now rather than once another deadline rolls around, whether it’s tomorrow, in three years, or even further out.
MacRae said, “The reality is, whether perceived or real, there are conflicts within our model. We need to work together and determine what’s the best way to either mitigate or eliminate those problems.
“It may be that we have to do a better job of explaining the value and the way we do things in the broker industry, or it may mean that we need to make some changes to the way we do remuneration,” but either way, Macrae warns against letting the conflict “fester.”
Whichever model is decided upon, MacRae feels there is value in implementing certain practices that have been suggested in the ongoing conversation, such as improving record-keeping.
“The brokers that will really thrive under any model presented in the future are those that are able to move the thinking from ‘This [regulation] is a burden’ to ‘This is adding value to the recommendation that I’m ultimately going to make for this really important decision,’” he explained
Clearer expectations and better reporting will help customers see all the more clearly the value that mortgage brokers truly offer.
Whatever happens, MacRae feels it must be “formed out of cooperation.”
“We don’t want to revisit this period of time. That requires us all to be mature and have those sometimes hard conversations to ensure we have an absolutely viable industry that’s able to provide choice for customers well into the future.
“We’ve definitely seen a change in sentiment, so the voice is being heard. The role that brokers play in helping customers has been heightened to a level that we’ve never seen before. We should not miss that opportunity to continue that conversation and use it as a platform to move forward and continue to grow the industry,” he finished
