The Reserve Bank of Australia answered a cry for help from struggling homeowners in need of a substantial cut in their home mortgage rates, a survey has found.

An online poll conducted by leading mortgage broker Loan Market Group, which includes X Inc Finance, found 66 per cent of respondents believed last month’s quarter percentage point reduction by the RBA made no difference to them financially.
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Most Australians would not shy away from allowing lenders to access their entire credit history if it meant getting a better home loan deal, a new survey has found.

A poll by leading mortgage broker Loan Market Group, which includes X Inc Finance, found 72 per cent of respondents supported positive credit reporting, which allows lenders to scrutinise an applicants full credit history.
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While other industries across the country are facing dire skills shortages, a glut of labour is looming for the financial services sector as lenders put off staff in response to the rising cost of funding and liquidity issues.

Jennifer Nielsen, Chief Executive Officer of Loan Market Group, which includes X Inc Finance, said the US sub-prime mortgage crisis had effectively shut down the residential mortgage-backed securities (RMBS) market in Australia.
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Home owners have been advised to get on the front foot and negotiate their own interest rate cut with their bank rather than wait for a decision on official rates from the Reserve Bank of Australia.

Jennifer Nielsen, Chief Executive Officer of Loan Market Group, incorporating Loan Market Home Finance and X Inc Finance, said there was nothing to stop customers from being pro-active about their home mortgage rate.
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Australians are finding it more difficult to obtain housing finance as home lenders battle to deal with the global economic slowdown, a new survey has found.

An online poll in June conducted by Loan Market Group’s X Inc Finance, Australia’s fastest growing mortgage broker, found 60 per cent of respondents felt they were finding it harder to get a home loan in the wake of the credit crunch.

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Australian banks say they haven’t tightened their lending criteria, as a mortgage broker claimed that more people were finding it harder to get a home loan.

The global credit crunch has had a more severe impact on non-bank lenders, which rely heavily on borrowings to fund their loan books.

To get funding, many have had to increase credit quality by cutting riskier products or turning people away - if they haven’t disappeared altogether.

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Moves by some banks to reduce commissions to mortgage brokers will not check the growth of the increasingly important service the industry is providing to mortgage-paying Australians, according to Loan Market and X Inc Finance, Australia’s fastest growing mortgage broking group.

Jennifer Nielsen, Loan Market and X Inc Chief Executive, said her group was discussing the issue of commissions with all lenders, reinforcing to them the value of forging long-term relationships with mutual customers or borrowers.

“Lenders need to look beyond merely the commissions that they pay mortgage brokers for service and focus on the true value that a mortgage broker provides,” she said. “Research has consistently demonstrated that the people who use mortgage brokers are typically time poor, higher-value customers who invest more over the medium to long term.

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