New entrant threat ‘incremental and progressive’

Speaking to Mortgage Business, La Trobe Financial chief investment officer Paul Wells said the inevitability of new entrants will progressively bring significant potential change to the financial services landscape.

“Well known Australian and ‘next generation’ global brands, with balance sheets, marketing budget and disruptive technology, are being taken very seriously by the banks,” Mr Wells said.

“The banks will meet this head-on and given retail Australia's sticky core banking preferences and our prudential framework, change specifically to new providers of retail services, may well be only incremental and progressive,” he said.

“The banks have extended their strategic position over the last 15 years and they will act and respond vigorously.”

Mr Wells said that certain pockets of financial services may experience dramatic change where groups of consumers find a strongly preferred model.

“The clearest outcome appears to be ongoing change and wins for consumers in terms of technology, ease, choice and ultimately in value for money in use of financial services; much like what happened so dramatically to borrower rates on mortgages with the entrance of brokers and prime non-bank lenders in the mid-1990s,” he said.