Digital tool sets benchmark for client recommendations

Award-winning aggregator Loan Market has expanded MyCRM with a compliance tool guiding brokers through Best Interests Duty (BID) note-taking and their reasoning for product recommendations.

 

The BID Notes Helper feature guides brokers to prepare a powerful argument on why a recommended lender and product best supports the needs of their customer above others.

 

The digital feature seamlessly links the client’s stated needs and objectives - such as an offset account or particular interest rate - with the broker’s recommended product and lender.  

 

The feature also allows brokers to show clients the cost of their loan, including one-off or ongoing fees and repayment changes, beyond the basic interest rate.

 

Its development responds to ASIC’s observation that the industry was not providing enough reasoning to clients on why they recommended specific products.

 

Loan Market Group Chief Compliance and Risk Officer David McQueen said the tool brought efficiencies and safety to broker’s activities as the industry prepares for further regulatory introductions.

“Proof of compliance is just as important as the act of compliance under BID,” said Mr McQueen.

 

“One of the issues that ASIC identified as a problem for brokers was detailing and justifying their services for customers. The BID Notes Helper enables brokers to meet this expectation within MyCRM’s accompanying lender and product rationale tool.

 

“We can expect ASIC to sharpen its focus on BID enforcement and note taking, and the reasoning why one product or lender was chosen over another will be a primary focus.”

 

The BID Notes Helper collates a client’s needs, objectives and preferences within a single place in MyCRM. Brokers follow a guided process that ensures the right questions are asked to determine the client’s individual requirements.

 

When the broker justifies why their choice of product meets the best interests of the client, they can reference the needs and objectives detailed in the Goal Setter, which then provides hints for the recommendation.

 

Keeping all data in an easy-to-reference section made the recommendations process to clients much faster, said Loan Market Geelong Managing Director Sarah Thomson. 

 

"When you're writing your recommendation, you have everything you discussed with the client in an attached feature, eliminating the need to go back and forth between different sections," she said.

 

"It's really beneficial in forming a clear conclusion on why the product and lender best aligns to the client's goals."

 

Mr McQueen said the BID Notes Helper was an extension of Loan Market’s overall commitment to keep brokers safe, which PwC recognised as ‘market leading’.

 

The BID