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Australia's big banks are shaking up their broker channels. Last week, two of the four big banks in Australia - Commonwealth Bank and Westpac - revealed new leadership in their broker channels.
CommBank promoted Baber Zaka (pictured left) to general manager, third party banking, placing him in charge of the bank's broker channel. Westpac followed suit the next day, elevating Sarah Willsallen (pictured right) to head of broker distribution.
Market experts say the leadership changes are a positive development for the larger mortgage broker industry.
"It's good to see that the majors are focusing on the third-party channel. It's a vital channel for brokers. We're pleased to see that they're putting the brokers in the spotlight," Ben Kingsley, managing director and mortgage broker at Melbourne-based Empower Wealth, told Australian Broker.
"What brokers and aggregators want is more engagement from certain execs in the broker space," Kingsley continued. "The banks should take a greater focus on what the brokers are doing. It always flows down to the brokers. At the executive level, they should be making sure they're getting the brokers' voice, spending some time with the high-performing brokers, listening to the brokers and getting information from them."
Peter White, managing director of the Finance Brokers Association of Australasia (FBAA), added: "I'm glad to see these appointments and hopefully they bring a fresh supportive approach to the broker market. The most important thing [the banks] need to do is to be transparent with what's going on."
Both banks appear to be following a similar game plan when it comes to growing their third-party channels, which includes hiring top talent to foster broker development. It's not surprising when more than 74% of borrowers turn to brokers for support, and the numbers are only growing.
CommBank's Zaka has spent two decades working in financial services. At CommBank, he led system changes that helped brokers grow their businesses.
Michael Baumann, CommBank's executive general manager home buying, said, “Baber not only brings a lot of technical and industry knowledge to this role, but his commitment to helping broker businesses to thrive is unquestionable.”
Zaka added: “Having worked closely with brokers for the past five years, I know how important it is to have the right foundations and strong relationships, and this will remain a priority for me and the team. I’m also excited to see how we can further make our processes simpler and easier, and ultimately give our brokers more confidence to grow their businesses with us."
The executive replaces Razia Khan, who has taken on the role of general manager premier banking.
Over at Westpac, Damien MacRae, managing director, mortgages, said, "We want to be the bank of choice for brokers and customers, and are continuing to invest in delivering market-leading service, competitive products and new digital innovations to make it simpler and faster to do business."
Willsallen - previously stage general manager, mortgage broker distribution in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory - will take on the role of head of broker distribution, replacing Warren Shaw. Shaw was given the new title of national general manager home lending distribution. Both begin their new roles on February 11.
“Sarah’s appointment to the role of head of broker distribution, recognises her eight years leading mortgage broker distribution for Westpac," MacRae said. He added that Shaw's "experience sees him strongly positioned to support more of our customers into homeownership, in a new role supporting our first party focus.”
