Finance Brokers Association of Australia (FBAA) managing director Peter White (pictured above) urged the industry to stop boasting about its market share and instead emphasise advancing the sector, pushing for meaningful changes, and continuing direct advocacy.
White criticised recent publicity in the Australian Financial Review about finance and mortgage brokers, calling it an "own goal."
“While a strong market share shows that consumers trust brokers, the continual public references and updates to the percentage of our market share and financial earnings sends the message that we are focused on ourselves,” he said.
“We look like a bunch of self-indulgent fat cats bragging about how great we are, yet in reality most brokers are small businesspeople who work hard to serve their clients.”
White stressed the importance of addressing significant issues such as reforming clawbacks and ensuring the sector retains the trust of government, regulators, and consumers.
“The FBAA celebrates those brokers who are very successful but equally works to help the many who earn a solid but average income,” he said.
White highlighted research by Agile Market Intelligence in association with the FBAA, showing 86% of mortgage broker clients trust their broker, and 83% would return to a broker for their next mortgage application.
“But we can’t take this trust for granted, because we know the big banks are right now trying to undermine our sector in some ways,” he said.
White said that the industry does not advance or help itself retain trust by publicly gloating about its success, warning that such behaviour can backfire and be weaponised against them.
“We should leave the celebrating to our conferences and awards nights,” he said.
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