Further evidence of a shift in mortgage applications from majors to other smaller lenders is provided by the fact that ING Direct has acknowledged lengthier processing times for incoming home loan applications and has promised to work through the issue.
According to Australian Broker, “As has been the case in the past, it is important we are transparent and keep you informed on how we are addressing these challenges,” Mark Woolnough, head of third party distribution & direct mortgages, wrote in a note to brokers on Thursday (13 July).
“We have all available resources working towards getting our turnaround times back to much shorter levels.”
The primary cause for the delays has been elevated application flows, Woolnaugh told Australian Broker.
“A combination of other factors have also exacerbated the extended delays, namely the introduction of requirements regarding Common Reporting Standards and re-work on incomplete applications; in many cases multiple re-works on the same files.
“It is vital that our competitive positioning remain strong; this won’t be compromised by our processing challenges.”
The bank has created separate assessment queues for purchase and refinancing, he said, which would assess purchase applications in a faster manner and address extended queues for refinancing.
Credit assessment staff have also been brought in both over the weekends and on weeknights, while a recruitment effort for additional assessment and processing staff is underway.
At the time the broker note was sent out, ING was assessing purchasing applications received on 6 July and refinance applications received on 23 June.
“We are doing everything we can to get back to acceptable turnaround times. We thank you for your continued support and patience.”
ING was making real progress in solving these issues, Woolnaugh said, with purchase applications now at a four day turnaround time. He promised that this figure will continue to be brought down whilst ING also worked on refinances in parallel.
“We expect to be back within turnaround times of below four days within the next few weeks. We will also do everything we can do ensure we hold and further improve these and avoid any return to the turnaround times we’ve experienced over the past few weeks.”
