Approval times blow out at CBA

The CBA's fax machines are being clogged.

It may be Commonwealth Bank’s turn to aggravate mortgage brokers and take weeks to handle their loan applications.   

Mortgage Choice told the Herald Sun that CBA was taking up to 20 days to process loan documents, a major irritant at a time of a revival in demand for new home loans.

CBA's head of retail products, Michael Cant, told the newspaper the bank's first home buyer volumes had more than doubled since the increase in the grant from the federal government was announced in October, while aggregate home loan volume was up 40 per cent since the middle of February.

"The volumes have been extraordinary in the last month - they have hit a record high," Cant said.

On the other hand Cant said reports of 20-day waits on approvals were rare.

Westpac had even worse delays in processing applications lodged through brokers late last year and early this year, though the bank had managed to catch up as of a month ago.
 
Mortgage Choice chief executive Paul Lahiff told the Herald Sun, “we are experiencing incredible growth in activity.”

Lahiff said his company record growth throughout February, with more than 25 per cent of all brokered loans being for new homes.

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