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Q: Tell us about your first job – have you always worked in the finance industry?
A: I left school and went straight into banking, working for banks – owned by NAB – in the UK for over 20 years, before I left to have my children. Once back from bringing up my children, I came into the crazy but wonderful world of mortgage broking.
Q: During your career in finance, what has surprised you the most?
A: Having come from the UK to Australia 15 years ago, it has really surprised me how much power the big banks have in this country, and their strong relationships with the government.
Q: What is one thing you wish everyday borrowers knewabout finance, debt and/or brokers?
A: I wish borrowers understood that their banks are not loyal to them and that they have a better chance of approval and saving money by coming to a broker. We are getting there as an industry, and I am convinced that the brokers’ share of mortgage applications will only continue to rise in the coming years.
Q: Name one positive change, innovation or efficiency tocome out of the COVID-19 pandemic?
A: It’s great that the banks are finally allowing us to interview on Zoom – this saves me several hours per day. It allows people to sit in the comfort of their own home and talk to us, and my clients are loving it. I really hope this continues to be the case once this is all over.
Q: If you could change anything about the broking industry, what would it be?
A: One: that clawback be stopped, as it’s just wrong – we all know it, but no one appears to be really attempting to fight this, despite the fact that broker remunerations have been reduced over the years and the cost of us doing a mortgage has risen dramatically. We make a loss on small mortgages too, so the banks should pay us a minimum fee for a mortgage to not only cover our costs but give us some income on the small deals. Two: that aggregators are not allowed to be owned and influenced by banks. All aggregators should be supporting and fi ghting for their brokers. We’ve seen independently owned aggregators do this well in the past 12 months, but others have been very quiet or have been following the banks’ party line.
