Major bank
Westpac has unveiled plans to ramp up mortgage growth after achieving below average system growth in the 2015 financial year.
In his first interview since being appointed chief executive of a new division that includes the consumer banks of Westpac and St George, George Frazis told
Fairfax media that the major bank is preparing for significant growth in both home loans and transaction accounts.
In the year to September 2015, Westpac grew its mortgage portfolio by 4%, however, this was just behind system growth with the major bank reporting it grew its mortgage book by 0.9 times system.
Speaking to
Australian Broker, Westpac’s general manager of third party distribution, Tony Macrae, said mortgage brokers will play a key part in its growth plans.
“Mortgage broking plays a crucial role in the growth of the consumer bank’s customer base, and it’s recognised as a fundamentally important channel. In Westpac’s full year 2015 financial results the broker channel was responsible for 47% of new lending,” he said.
According to Macrae, the plans involve strengthening and streamlining its home loan process and focusing on a customer-centric approach.
“I’ve spoken before on how we are continuing to strengthen and streamline our processes and deliver an exceptional process for customers. This includes improvements to our settlements experience, faster re-financing, improving our internal decision making channels, strengthening our communications to our brokers and much more.
“We are unreservedly focussed on our customers, putting them at the heart of every decision, and ensuring customers have channel choice along every step of the home buying journey.
“Our relationships with our brokers is vital and I’m looking forward to both myself and my team continuing to work closely and collaboratively with the broker community to get the best results for them and our customers," Macre told
Australian Broker.
