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Commonwealth Bank CEO Ian Narev has predicted that the broker channel will continue to grow, and said the competition it provides to direct channels is good for consumers.
"At CBA we have our own channels, and if every Australian wanted to get their home loans from our channels we'd be delighted. But the fact is that is not the case, and that will never be the case," he said.
Narev said the competition brokers provide to the majors ultimately keeps banks on their toes, to the benefit of consumers.
"The broker channel has a strong proposition to customers, and we may as well be a part of that. If that forces our direct channels and our branches to be more competitive, that's good for customers."
Narev said he expected the broker channel - and Aussie in particular - to continue to carve out market share. This belief, he said, drove the strategy behind CBA's investment in Aussie.
"There would be no point in trying to make John [Symond] rich if the business had peaked. Not only do we see the business as not having peaked, but we also see the partnership between CBA and Aussie as being able to take it to another plane," Narev said.
In spite of the bank's increased share in Aussie, Narev vowed that the business would maintain its independence.
"It ain't broke, and on the contrary it's thriving. We saw this as the ability to partner with what we consider the leading franchise in a growing sector, and the last mistake we would ever make is to change it."
