The company launched Flexiloan nationally only a year ago, but is currently relaunching the product with mortgage brokers. The product has been streamlined, broker commissions improved and as group manager mortgages Andrew Morgan puts it, "we’ve repriced our interest rate options to increase our competitiveness".
He says one of the reasons for the relaunch is "to get a firm grip of our potential market before the likes of (Australian-based lender) Wizard and Colonial come here".
Unlike some commentators, Morgan believes Colonial will still go ahead with plans to offer mortgages in spite of a new merger deal with Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
"Colonial has a sound insurance base and has done a lot of profile-building in this market – I would say it’s only a matter of time before they do launch (mortgage products)."
But back to Equitable’s own Flexiloan: Morgan says it previously came with many different variations but has been streamlined into redraw, revolving credit or investment accelerator options that are easier to understand.
He says the original launch (of Flexidraw) was done on a national scale and didn’t involve individual broker training. However, he says presentations have recently been made to more than 20 broker companies (over 90 individuals) in Wellington and Equitable is currently making further presentations to brokers in Hamilton and Auckland.
"We’ve had a tremendous response so far," Morgan says. "From Wellington and Christchurch, business has increased from four or five deals a week to around 20 deals.
"It’s all about putting the effort into making sure the brokers understand the product. We’ll look to keep in touch with them every two to three months and we’ve already had requests to come back."
Morgan claims that Equitable offers one of the more competitive brokerages in the market.
"Other lenders offer upfront fees or trails. We offer those and will refund the application fee (to brokers) as well."
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