Brokers to ‘get more market share’ using fintech

Adelaide Bank’s Damien Percy told Mortgage Business’ On the Record that he believed brokers were the “original disruptor” to the mortgage market, and that there was “no doubt” in his mind that brokers would continue to evolve and take advantage of the tools available to them, including the use of fintech.

Mr Percy said that while there was a role in the industry for various comparison, bidding and price-driven platforms for borrowers from an educational perspective, “what brokers deliver in terms of advice, taking the grief away from borrowers [and being] that friend to help you through the process …that key part of the proposition, which is what broking is all about, will continue to be required by consumers”.

He added that broking would be made more interesting by technology, enabling brokers to become more productive, “and if anything … get more market share rather than less”.

“We’re already seeing, courtesy of the aggregators, quite sophisticated technology being deployed to brokers, and we’re seeing today individual brokers or broker groups bringing technology to broking,” he continued, adding “it’s still fundamentally broking”.

Mr Percy therefore concluded that he didn’t see fintech as a disruptor, but “one of the tools brokers are going to".

He added: "If [brokers] embrace it – [they'll] continue to use to disrupt even more”.

“We’re at 55 per cent market share now – I see no reason why it’s not going to get to 65 or 70 per cent,” he said.

[Related: Fintech at a 'tipping point', says ASIC]