Sliding returns to investors and a collapse in board support for Suncorp's flawed digital strategy were not the only factors that yesterday cost Michael Cameron his job at the helm of Brisbane's largest ASX-listed company.When Suncorp chair Christine McLoughlin joined the board last September, lending volumes at the group's underperforming bank were in free-fall despite a reasonably aggressive pricing policy that should have given the business a fillip, albeit in a weakening mortgage market.Suncorp's decision to sacrifice margin did nothing to lift home loan volumes. Instead the bank went backwards.In the six months to the end of December 2018, mortgage lending rose by only A$378 million or 0.8 per cent and in the March quarter it contracted by almost the same amount.Suncorp's attractive pricing, particularly in the fixed rate market, has been noted by mortgage experts."Suncorp is reasonably competitive in the mortgage market and they're pretty sharply priced for fixed rate home loans over three and five years," said Canstar director, Steve Mickenbecker."There's no doubt that the pricing is built to attract market share."A recent disclosure to the ASX provides a clue as to what went wrong for Suncorp in mortgage lending over the last nine months.  And the cause of the malaise has little to do with tighter regulation, competitive pressures or other general excuses the bank is prone to making."Over this time, we have maintained focus on asset quality, managing our margin and supporting the broker channel, including initiatives to improve operational efficiencies," the company reported in its March quarter update to the ASX lodged on May 8.Suncorp relies heavily on the broker market to originate mortgage business outside of Queensland, but its failure to invest in a reliable servicing platform meant that its pricing strategy counted for little in the last year.It is well known in the broking industry that Suncorp's mortgage platform is simply unable to cope with demand spikes that usually follow aggressive re-pricing announcements."I think the bank recognises the problems they've got with their existing system," a well-known Sydney broker told Banking Day."It has cost them a lot of loans."This helps to explain why Suncorp in the 2018 calendar lost market share in Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and the ACT where its proprietary distribution network is extremely modest.While Suncorp says it has "implemented initiatives" to improve its mortgage servicing platform, a volume recovery is not likely any time soon.The bank remains an industry laggard for responding to home loan applications submitted by brokers.According to a notification sent to brokers on 24 May, Suncorp takes at least five days - and up to twelve - to assess mortgage applications."The processing times really blow out whenever they reprice to a competitive rate," the broker said."It means that most brokers select other lenders when the rates and features are line-ball between different loan products."Macquarie and ING - two home lenders that have grown faster than system in the last 12 months - are viewed by brokers as consistently able to process applications in two days or less.Cameron