Australia’s largest bank has made a slight change to its mortgage refinancing process in a bid to provide “more clarity” to customers.
In the past, CBA mortgage customers wanting to switch to another lender could do so by filling out the relevant form, which could be downloaded online.
But with the new process, either the mortgage borrower or their mortgage broker would need to contact CBA and speak with a staff member about their decision to dump the bank, to get the external refinancing process started, news.com.au reported.
The CBA website now directs customers to call the bank to discuss their external refinance options.
“Make sure you’re getting the most out of your CommBank home loan before you consider refinancing to another lender,” the website said. “We’ll need to speak to you (as one of the borrowers), or your recognised broker if you have one.”
Customers are asked to call between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday to “discuss your options or start your discharge if you choose to continue.”
In an interview with news.com.au, a CBA spokesperson said the bank’s updated refinance process aimed to improve customer service and provide “more clarity” earlier on in the process.
“Following feedback from our customers, lenders and brokers, we now speak with our customers early in the refinance process so that we can help them make an informed decision about the best next steps for them in their property journey,” he said. “We have a dedicated team of home lending specialists who are on hand to provide our customers with information and clarity about their home loan situation.”
Requiring a customer to make a phone call to discharge a loan is not an uncommon practice for banks and may be one way for CBA to retain customers and stop them switching over to rival lenders, news.com.au reported.
