Morning Briefing: Mortgage Choice boss defends brokers against recent comments from Westpac

Brokers won't be next, says Mortgage Choice boss... Major bank set to hit record profit

Brokers won't be next, says Mortgage Choice boss
The CEO of Australia's biggest listed mortgage broker, Mortgage Choice, has defended brokers against recent comments from Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer. 

Hartzer suggested brokers will be next in line for increased scrutiny from regulators after financial advisors. 

Mortgage Choice CEO John Flavell said Hartzer is out of touch and needed to "catch up with facts", according to an article in The Financial Review, pointing out brokers have been licensed under ASIC for five years.

"[Mr Hartzer] should show the data to back up what he is saying rather than shooting from the hip," Mr Flavell said. "Consumers are well serviced by brokers."

MFAA CEO Siobhan Hayden also commented that there was no need for more regulation. "Mr Hartzer is a very seasoned and clever man. He's a good operator so I am not sure what the motivation was for what he said.

"Regulation that came into place in 2010 changed the landscape by a long way requiring that brokers be a lot more thorough in their recommendations.

"Based on customer discussions, brokers determine a product which is most aligned to the customer's needs," she said.

Major bank set to hit record profit
The Commonwealth Bank is expected to report a $9.1 billion cash profit for FY2014/15, up from $8.68bn a year ago, an article in The Australian reports.

To meet new capital reserve standards, CBA has decided to go ahead with a $5 billion capital raising, the Sydney Morning Herald reported this morning.

Since ANZ tapped investors for $5.5 billion last week to meet new capital requirements imposed by the industry regulator, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.