​Steve Kane: On being the best

NAB Broker general manager Steve Kane is thrilled brokers ranked NAB best of the best, and says the bank is still listening to brokers who pick up the phone

Steve KaneMPA interviews the Top Five winners of our recently concluded Banks on Brokers 2014 survey. 

NAB Broker general manager Steve Kane is thrilled brokers ranked NAB best of the best, and says the bank is still listening to brokers who pick up the phone

Congratulations! NAB has been named Bank of the Year. What’s your take on the win?

Steve Kane: We’re absolutely thrilled. It’s been a big year for us and we’ve been continuously working hard to drive improvements across the board. One year ago I said NAB Broker would lead the market by continuing to invest in the broker channel, and I think the result speaks to our dedication to constantly improve as a lender.

What do you think has tipped the balance for brokers to rank you first this year?

SK: Over the years we’ve worked hard to improve across all areas of our broker proposition, and I think over time this has tipped the balance, with brokers now seeing the long-term results and recognising the advances we’ve made. Some have been major initiatives – like price for risk, which really led the market at the time – and others have been small improvements in process such as streamlining lodgements to reduce documentation for brokers. We have also aligned our back office with our BDM teams and opened communication lines with credit teams, ensuring a consistent and reliable service proposition.

Brokers seem particularly impressed with your turnaround speeds and BDM support?

SK: It’s fantastic brokers have rated us on top when it comes to turnaround speeds and BDM support, particularly as brokers identified them as the two most important factors for them.

Working on our turnaround speeds has been a gradual process as it’s really about looking at how the loan process works for brokers on a practical, daily level. When we look at our broker proposition we are looking not only at the product and rates, but also where we can make sure we can tighten our processes, deliver a competitive product, as well as better, faster service to make sure our brokers and their clients are happy. There’s no magic bullet, so it’s great to know all the changes we’ve made in our service and process are making a difference to brokers and they are seeing improvements in our turnaround times.

Over the past two years, we’ve also made it a key priority to support brokers better through new BDM teams with dedicated roles. It was a priority for the majority of the past 18 months to offer support to our brokers around the clock throughout the whole loan process, from lodgement right through to post-settlement. We also invested heavily in training our BDMs and in making sure we are able to assist brokers and their clients at all touchpoints.

Are there any other areas the bank has focused on in the last 12 months?

SK: In addition to constantly reviewing and refining our overall broker proposition, NAB is strongly committed to the broker channel. We are committed to supporting brokers towards a common goal of continuing to grow the broker share of the market, and have consciously made efforts to support the industry through training and development, recognising the achievements through dedicated events as well as playing the role as a broker’s advocate.

NAB Top Rankings
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How will you keep NAB at the top? Any plans for the next 12 months or so?

SK: We’ll continue to listen to what brokers want and deliver on that. This was the original line of thought when we first launched Homeplus – a product designed for brokers based on what brokers want and need, available exclusively through brokers, with a compelling and competitive product, price, commission and trail. We’ll also continue to invite feedback so we know what brokers like about our product, and where we can evolve and improve.

What is your key message to those brokers who haven’t been as engaged with NAB as they could have been? What would you tell them?

SK: Pick up the phone and tell us what you think! We’re proud to be voted Bank of the Year, but we recognise there’s always room for improvement as a lender and as a business – after all, we’re only as good as our last loan. Brokers have voted us top for a reason and we hope the results speak for themselves, as we’ve worked alongside brokers to get their input so that we know what we are doing well and where we need to improve. What we do guarantee is to continue to work hard at improving all aspects of our business, making improvements whenever we can, no matter how large or small.


This excerpt is lifted from the August 2014 issue of Mortgage Professional. Download to read the whole feature!