Methodology
This is the 7th annual Broker Loyalty & Lender Performance Study. The study was conducted by Bond in December 2022 and January 2023 with a 15-minute online survey. 623 mortgage brokers and agents from across Canada provided their feedback on key lenders. Bond’s survey asks brokers to rate lenders based on these metrics, with the full version of the study available including where all of the key lenders rank.
Market Highlights
What do brokers prioritize?
Brokers prioritize the best value for their clients overall when it comes to what lenders offer them. We can see this when brokers and agents were asked what types of premiums they’d be willing to pay to work with a ‘preferred’ lender. Overall, brokers were willing to accept fewer perks, reduced compensation and longer fulfillment times, but were less likely to accept higher rates or reduced product features. See pages 22 & 31.
A-side
When it came to loyalty to A-side lenders, brokers placed more importance on things like the ease and turnaround time for approvals, the consistency of the service provided, and underwriter relationships. These function elements now account for just over half of how brokers decide who they recommend. The other half of the decision-making process is all about how lenders make brokers feel, in other words their emotional connection. Brokers feeling stressed or angry with many lenders resulted in these affinity elements being among the top emotional drivers, while also perceiving many as difficult and inflexible to work with. Compensation is rated as having the lowest importance for brokers. This underscores the premium brokers place on working relationships with lenders and the quality of customer service when it comes to recommending a lender. A-side Net Promoter Score is up by +7 points to +23 overall.
B-side
Affinity elements continue to account for half of the decision of whether or not to recommend a B-side lender. Emotional connection and how brokers feel about lenders has overtaken brand personality in importance. Based on the results of the study, performance on the most important functional drivers remains average across the industry with most lenders struggling with ease of approval and turnaround times. Brokers also said that lenders are struggling to minimize feelings of stress, which is ranked as a top emotional driver of loyalty. When it comes to prioritizing functional elements when deciding who to recommend, the top drivers are issue resolution, ease of approval, as well as turnaround time and. As is the case for the A-side, compensation from B-lenders is also rated as having the lowest importance for brokers. B-side Net Promoter Score is down by -4 points and now sits at +15 overall.
What are brokers worried about?
Current economic conditions and a housing market slowdown are top concerns for broker business, but half are seizing the opportunity to upgrade their business. Brokers and agents are evenly split on whether they think refinancing business will decrease due to current conditions.
Power of information
This is the only one-stop-shop on the market to gauge broker and agent feedback on the country’s key lenders. Because of this, the results of the study provide unique insight for lenders and how they can better respond to broker and agent needs, while it provides brokers insight into the market landscape.
Access to the Study
Click below for a copy of the summarized study! For those who didn’t have a chance to take part, stay tuned for this year’s survey outreach. If you are a broker or agent, don't miss the opportunity to have your say! If you are interested in subscribing to the full study, please reach out to Corey Bass, Research Director, Bond at Corey.Bass@bondbl.com.
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